The Last Rose of Summer
by Candid Ishida
Summary: Narrated by a certain Grim Reaper, Kurama and Hiei grow closer as they combat a demon organization, until something unexpected happens. YAOI ::COMPLETED - PLEASE REVIEW!::
1. Encounters

Note: Some people don't like original characters but she only helps to move the story along. So don't worry, none of the real Yu Yu Hakusho characters are going to fall in love with some random character out of nowhere that I made up, promise.

  
  
  
  


Tall and lithe, yet with incredible strength concealed within, the young man made his way down the sidewalk after a day at school. His striking green eyes focused on the slightly cracked and weather damaged pavement beneath him, and a few strands of his long, red hair blew gently in the breeze. 

Winter was over and the sakura were beginning to come into full bloom. The temperature was slightly chilly, but he did not seem to mind. Whatever thoughts were running through his mind at that moment are probably beyond any of us, for though his appearance may fool the passerby into thinking he is a mere teenage boy, behind the pretty face is the mind of a several hundred year old demon.

Known in his previous life as Youko, by his closest friends as Kurama, and by his family and everyone else as Minamino Shuuichi, he was born into this red haired form when his spirit entered the body of a human woman after being mortally wounded. He now manages to juggle doing his homework and saving the living world as an assistant to Spirit Detective Urameshi Yusuke everyday. 

Enough about his history though, let me continue with the tale...

****

'Why are you telling me all this, don't you think I already knew that!?'

'Hush, you asked what happened and I'm telling you!'

'Do you have to tell their entire life stories?'

'Yes, now sit back down and listen.'

'I should fire you...'

'EHEM! As I was saying...'

****

Kurama sighed deeply as he strolled down the sidewalk, and admired the signs of spring blooming all around him. He felt a special connection to the buds of flowers that were poking up above the surface of the damp earth to greet the sun. His specialty in battle was controlling plant life, his favorite weapon being the lovely but deadly rose whip. Lovely but deadly, like himself.

He rounded the corner slowly but was startled by another figure bumping into him. She had been walking briskly, also on her way home from school, and now her books and papers were scattered on the ground.

"I'm terribly sorry, please excuse me."

"It's alright! It was my fault anyway, I should have been watching where I was going," she replied skittishly, grabbing for her books.

"Here, let me help you with that." 

Kurama bent down to assist her in gathering her things, and stood to face her when everything had been retrieved from the sidewalk.

"Forgive me for knocking your things to the ground," he said, his silky voice rolling off his tongue.

"It's ok, I'm sorry for bumping into you," she replied. This young girl was tall, but not quite eye to eye with the former fox spirit. Her brown hair tied in two braids fell to her waist, and her eyes reflected a kind heart, but were plain and grey. She was dressed in the normal girl's uniform of Sarayashiki Junior High school.

"Would you happen to know Urameshi Yusuke?" he asked, noting the uniform.

"Yes! He's the strongest boy at my school. I've never actually talked to him though..."

Kurama smiled gently.

"He is not as frightening as his reputation makes him out to be. He is a rather close acquaintance of mine."

"Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you, eh..."

He paused for a moment when probed for his name. Though he normally would have said Shuuichi to one he did not know, something inside of him was urging to be more sincere to this stranger.

"Kurama," he replied, "and you?"

"My name is Yorokonde Kyo." She smiled and bowed politely to him. 

"Would you like me to walk you the rest of the way home, Kyo?"

"Sure! Thank you very much, by the way, for helping me pick up my books."

"With pleasure."

They proceeded to her home and Kurama bid farewell at the front door. They had chatted endlessly on the way there about whatever came to mind, and seemed to have a strong connection almost immediately. As Kurama continued his journey home he felt a friendship beginning to bloom, just the same as the baby flowers of spring.

****

'What does that have to do with ANYTHING!?'

'It'll make sense later on, be patient! Every good story has a beginning, a middle and an end, and this is the beginning.'

'I should dock your pay for making me wait.'

'But you DON'T pay me at all!'

'Whatever... OGRE! Get me a sandwich, I think I'm going to be here a while...'

****

In the weeks following, Kurama and Kyo became closer friends, walking home together after school and spending time with each other on the weekends. Kurama began to feel slightly guilty, that he would let this girl enter his life and tell her his name, but still keep so much of his past from her.

Kurama's responsibilities as an assistant Spirit Detective still kept him away from his human life often, as they had before. One day he entered the office of the pompous, self centered, overbearing...

****

'Ehem...'

****

...handsome, generous, brilliant prince of Spirit World, Koenma. Gone were his magenta school clothes, they had been replaced by white with purple trim. Stepping through the door for his briefing, he saw that Koenma was not there as he had informed all that he would be.

"You're late..." Said a figure sitting on the desk.

"Forgive me, I was spending time with Kyo. Where is Koenma?" Kurama asked.

"That moronic Ogre told me he's taking a short nap, and that I shouldn't disturb him if I value my life. That was nearly three hours ago..." He blew black bangs out of his eyes and continued, "and who is Kyo anyway?"

"A friend of mine, a human girl that attends Yusuke and Kuwabara's school," he replied, sitting beside the man perched on Koenma's desk.

"You've been neglecting your duties, Kurama. You know that you and I will both be sent back to prison if we don't follow orders."

"Of course I know that."

"You may look sixteen but you can't forget you're a centuries old demon. You shouldn't be wasting your time hanging around with a foolish human girl."

The red haired boy smiled slightly and glanced over at his company.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were jealous, Hiei."

Two crimson eyes widened momentarily and then glared back at Kurama. Hiei, the demon who possessed the mysterious Jagan eye and used its powers to aid him in battle, was the figure who sat beside Kurama. Though they were both master strategists in battle, convicted criminals, ruthless killers and thieves, Hiei lacked the kind and caring nature Kurama had developed during his life as a human. This was the biggest difference between them. When it came to combat, this was Kurama's only flaw, and when it came to life, it was Hiei's.

"Your sense of humor is another thing I fail to understand..." the black haired demon grumbled, and turned away.

"Perhaps you would like to meet her?" Kurama asked, leaning closer.

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Well, you do have a liking for young girls, you adore Yukina, after all."

Hiei turned and glared again. "I don't ADORE anyone, she's my sister, It's my job to protect her from harm."

"I think I might be able to change your mind about humans eventually, they aren't as bad as you think."

"Well, it's nice to see you two finally here," a small voice interrupted.

"What do you mean finally? I've been waiting for you all day," Hiei said rather menacingly.

Though he had a pacifier in his mouth at all times and resembled a baby, Koenma was very old and the son of the Lord of Spirit World, King Enma. As they say, looks can be deceiving.

"Never mind that, I have the information concerning your next mission," he said, hopping into his chair.

Kurama and Hiei stood to face Koenma, now settled in his oversized throne.

"An ice demon has somehow escaped from prison in Demon World. His name is Tsumetai and is relatively powerful but also very stupid. Normally we could retrieve him easily, but he has a special technique called the Bakuhatsubutsu Kori Missiles."

"That's a mouthful..." Hiei mumbled.

"As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted.... The Bakuhatsubutsu Kori Missiles are ice crystals that are completely invisible and undetectable until they hit their target. They explode on contact, and it's nearly impossible to avoid them. It is now the responsibility of the two of you, Yusuke, and Kuwabara to stop this demon before he harms any innocent humans and deliver him back to Spirit World, dead or alive."

"This will be a challenge..." Kurama said softly.

"Nothing that we can't handle, I'll burn him alive," Hiei said smugly.

Koenma then handed them a large envelope.

"These are directions to the area where Tsumetai was last sighted. There are no roads and it's a two day journey, so we've arranged some accommodations for the four of you in a small cabin. Botan will be meeting you there. Any questions?"

The duo shook their heads and were dismissed.

Later that day, back in the Human Realm, Hiei and Kurama were walking to Yusuke's home to brief him on their newest mission.

"It seems I will have to cancel the plans I had made with Kyo this weekend," Kurama said not directly to Hiei, but more to the air.

"Hn..." was Hiei's response, as it often was.

Glancing up, Kurama spotted a young girl approaching from the opposite direction. A small smile spread across Kurama's lips.

"Well, I suggested you meet her and now it appears you'll have the chance to, Hiei."

"That's Kyo?" He asked, looking over the human girl who was nearly closer.

"Hello, Kurama!" she called, waving. She then began hurrying towards them.

"You told her your real name?" The fire demon remarked, slightly surprised.

"I believe she can be trusted," he answered.

Kyo stopped when she reached them, panting a bit but the look of happiness could not be erased from her face.

"How are you today Kurama!" She inquired cheerfully.

"I'm quite well, thank you," he replied. 

Hiei eyed her cautiously, not used to being in the presence of such a bubbly personality, excluding the ever joyful Botan. Even then, he tried to keep his distance.

"Kyo," Kurama continued, "This is Hiei, he's a close friend of mine."

"Hello, Hiei," she said, bending down until they were face to face, "and how old are you?"

Hiei's eyes opened wide and just when it looked as if he were about to bite Kyo's entire face off Kurama frantically interjected.

"Hiei and I are the same age!" he said quickly. "He's... foreign." Kurama sweatdropped and hoped the lie would at least be somewhat believable. Though he was extremely powerful and talented when it came to fighting, Hiei was, for lack of a better word, short.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, please forgive me if I offended you!" She apologized. "You just look young for your age."

"Apology accepted..." he growled, glaring up at her and speaking in anything but a forgiving tone. 

"Kyo," Kurama broke in again, hoping to ease the tension hanging in the air, "I'm afraid we're in a bit of a hurry and I won't be able to see you tomorrow."

"Oh, what's the matter?" She asked with concern.

"A... family emergency. I'll contact you as soon as I get home, though."

"Alright," she said, taking his hand momentarily, fully trusting this kind friend of hers, "I'll see you soon then."

She then shifted her gaze to Hiei, a bit more wary of him than before.

"It was nice meeting you, Hiei."

He sneered so his fangs were showing the tiniest bit and glared at her with contempt, before managing to force out his most polite sounding, "Goodbye..."

As Kyo walked off in one direction and the two demons in the other, Hiei crossed his arms and 'hmphed' back at the girl.

"She can be trusted, hm? Then when did this family emergency suddenly come up?"

"Trust is one thing, but shocking her with the truth that I'm off to kill a rampaging Ice Demon is not necessary."

"Hn..." came the foolproof answer.


	2. Bittersweet

****

'Well, at least I remember that part.'

'How could you forget, you where there! It wasn't that long ago!'

'I have a lot on my mind, you know!'

'Like deciding which pacifier to use each day?'

'Just continue with the story...'

****

  
  


"It's so cold! I'm freezing my butt off!" the tall, auburn haired Kuwabara Kuzuma whined, for what seemed to his companions like the hundredth time.

"Will you shut the hell up, Kuwabara!? We're all sick of hearing your stupid complaining!" answered his black haired schoolmate and former rival, Urameshi Yusuke.

"But I'm cold! It must be like, negative fifty degrees out here."

"You're in love with an ice apparition and you're complaining about being cold, maybe you should rethink this a little..." Yusuke said, glaring at him.

"Yeah, but she's so sweet and warm in my arms..." He crooned, beginning to drift into a daydream about Yukina.

"Why didn't you wear a JACKET," Hiei snarled suddenly, not so much caring about Kuwabara's complaints, but hearing his sister talked about in that way did not agree with him.

Kurama stifled a chuckle, knowing very well what had caused Hiei's sudden outburst but not wanting to cause the small demon to become angry with him.

The group of four had begun their mission and were making the long trek up the mountains to the spot where Tsumetai the ice demon had last been seen. Somewhere along the trail was a cabin where they were to stay, but they knew they would not reach it until nightfall. Kuwabara had suggested several times they stop to rest, but reaching the cabin quickly was important, as the temperatures were already frigid, and would be even colder after the sun set.

Several hours passed, and an excited Kuwabara finally shouted that he had seen smoke in the distance. The quartet quickened their pace, and soon reached the cabin, which was in the hands of the administration of Spirit World, and reserved for the detectives.

When they stepped inside, they saw that the front room of the cabin was illuminated by nothing but a single candle. Despite the apparent lack of any sort of fire or heating, however, the room was considerably warmer than the icy landscape outside.

"Welcome..." came a raspy voice from the darkness. A step closer to the candle revealed a counter much like that of a hotel, though it was crude and wooden.

"Who's there?" demanded Yusuke, stepping directly in front of the counter.

An old man crept into the light to face Yusuke. He could have been over one hundred years old if judged by his looks, and appeared to be missing an eye, though whether there was a gaping hole or merely a shadow on his face was hard to determine in the extreme darkness.

"You must be Koenma's boys..." he said in a barely audible tone. His visible eye examined each spirit detective slowly and carefully.

"What a creep..." Kuwabara whispered.

"You work for Koenma?" Yusuke asked him.

He did not say anything this time but simply nodded. When he moved, a tiny creaking sound could be heard, as if he were going to fall to pieces at any moment.

"I guess we're in the right place then," Yusuke said, turning back to the others.

"I'm afraid we've only got two beds available for you..." The old man said, before stepping back into the darkness. The group heard a door slam shut from somewhere behind the counter and he was gone.

"Goodnight then," Kurama said, walking off to find an empty room, with Hiei following silently behind.

"What!?" Kuwabara shouted. "I'm not sleeping with Urameshi! I'm not that kind of guy!"

"Then I guess you can just sleep out in the snow," Yusuke taunted as he hurried down the dark hallway to find the other bed. 

"Aw, fine! Urameshi, wait up!" Kuwabara stumbled after his friend and after several minutes of arguing they decided to take turns sleeping on the floor.

In the other room, Kurama was carefully taking off his blazer and settling into bed. Hiei was leaning in the corner.

"Aren't you going to come get some sleep?" Kurama asked, turning down the covers.

"I don't need a bed..." Hiei mumbled.

The redhead sighed and blinked at the fire demon for a moment.

"You'll need your full strength tomorrow, and I'm sure you won't get much rest standing against a wall all night," he remarked.

Hiei opened his eyelids and looked up at Kurama, revealing two glowing red eyes. They stared at each other, Kurama wondering what Hiei's response would be.

Finally, he broke his stare and took a step across the room, climbing into the bed beside Kurama. The moonlight made Kurama's green eyes sparkle brightly and he smiled.

"Goodnight."

"Hn..."

Though he hoped to receive a goodnight back from the little demon, he decided that the customary 'hn' would suffice, and he allowed himself to fall asleep.

Hours passed, and the black haired figure could not seem to fall into unconsciousness. He gazed at the teenage boy sleeping next to him, and wondered what he could be dreaming of. Though he knew probing into Kurama's mind with the Jagan Eye to see his thoughts was possible, he did not wish to invade his friend's privacy. 

A friend indeed, the word hovered in his mind. Never had Hiei allowed anyone to become so close to him. Someone to share his feelings with... though rarely. He could not admit it out loud for fear of damaging his pride, but Kurama was the best friend he had ever had.

So often they were near in battle, fighting side by side, but never before had he been near to Kurama as he was now. So close to his own body that he could feel the other boy's breathing. It was startling that a face so serene in sleep could be a ruthless killer when awake. 

Then, possibly overcome by the spell the sleeping beauty next to him was casting with his loveliness, or possibly giving in to feelings he did not even know he had, Hiei reached his hand out to touch Kurama's mane of red hair. Just as he was about to thread his fingers through it, though, he pulled away. In one fluid movement he slid to the floor and out the window, swearing at himself inside, and leaving Kurama asleep in the cabin.

In the sky above, the ever talented and intensely pretty Ferry woman of Spirit World, Botan, was approaching the cabin on her flying oar.

  
  


****

'Modest, aren't we?'

'Oh hush...'

****

  
  


As she neared the earth's surface, she spotted a dark clad figure huddled on the roof of the building. She swooped down and hovered several meters above the small fire demon and peered at him.

"Hiei, why are you sitting on the roof?" she inquired.

"Why not..." he hissed.

"Is something the matter? It's very cold out here and you really should be inside, you know."

No answer came. So, of course never willing to give up, Botan prodded again.

"What's the matter, Hiei? You can go on and tell your good buddy Botan!"

"Nothing..."

"Oh, I don't believe that for a second! Don't worry, I can keep a secret!" She chirped, hovering closer to him, still with a smile on her face.

"Go away."

"Well there's no need to be rude!" she huffed.

"Please don't force me to tear your vocal chords out." Hiei growled, baring his fangs. 

"Oh dear..." Not wishing to be maimed, for she knew that Hiei would most likely not hesitate to make good his threat, Botan quickly flew to the ground and stepped into the cabin to find Yusuke.

Hiei braced himself against the bitterly cold wind that swirled around him as he sat on the roof. This was not the first night in his life he had spent in the chilly outdoors, but felt more uncomfortable than ever before on this frigid evening. He had fought many battles, but suddenly there was an internal battle raging.

"What possessed you to do that..." he thought, still scolding himself inside. "You have no time to concern yourself with intimacy, you stupid fool." He stared off into the distance as he wrestled with his own thoughts.

"Besides..." he then said out loud, "he would never want me anyway..."


	3. Fury

Morning arrived, the sheet of deep snow that covered the mountain top shimmered as the sun peaked over the canopy of pine trees. In the light, the cabin the boys had slept in during the night looked more inviting. The old man from the night before was nowhere to be found and when Kurama entered the center room of the building, Yusuke and Kuwabara were already awake and sitting at a small dining room table, drinking coffee. Botan had made herself at home and was preparing breakfast... or at least trying to. Clouds of smoke and strange noises were emanating from the kitchen and the boys had decided to keep their distance.

"Forgive me for sleeping so late," Kurama said, pouring himself coffee and joining Yusuke and Kuwabara at the table. "I was plagued with some rather unsettling dreams last night."

"Were they about the outrageous battle we're gonna have today? Don't worry, it's nothing I can't handle!" Kuwabara shouted and slammed his coffee cup down on the table with a force just short of breaking it.

"Have you always been so full of yourself..." Yusuke groaned.

Kurama sipped lightly at his coffee and watched Yusuke and Kuwabara's table talk escalate into a roaring argument. Thankfully this took all attention away from himself and his nightmares. Horrible images had haunted him during the night of his precious little Jaganshi being torn limb from limb by a hulking ice demon as if he were a helpless child.

Before falling asleep he had hoped for some pleasant dreams about his small demon friend as they slumbered together. Their most intimate moments were when they fought, moving as one. Any other closeness was rare, not because Kurama did not wish for it, but because he knew Hiei would never allow it to happen.

He was rather disappointed when he had awoken to find Hiei gone and was expecting him to dive through a window for breakfast at any moment. When he did not, Kurama decided to inquire if anyone had seen the fire demon.

"Would anyone happen to know where Hiei is?"

"He's on the roof," a puff of smoke replied. When it cleared, Botan stood beside the table and four plates of... something were revealed sitting before the spirit detectives.

"At least he was," she continued. "Enjoy your breakfast!" she called as she trotted back into the kitchen. Silence followed, and then...

"What IS this?" Yusuke finally said, staring at their plates.

"I think it's eggs or... pancakes or something," Kuwabara answered while examining their breakfast. "What do you think Kurama?" But when they turned, the red-head was gone. "Kurama?"

On the roof, nothing could be found but some pine needles, snow... and one single tear gem, sparkling brilliantly in the dawn sun. The Jaganshi was gone, prepared to take his frustration out on the convict ice demon, alone.

  
  


****

'I should have known you can't cook! HA!'

'What!? That's totally besides the point, now just listen or I'm going to beat you to death with my oar.'

'That's no way to talk to your boss...'

****

  
  


"To hell with you, fool!" Hiei screamed as yet another painful blast exploded against his skin. At the mountain's peak, with his sword unsheathed he ran with his nearly incomprehensible speed around the blue giant. Even for a demon as fast as Hiei, however, the ice shards were extremely difficult to dodge. He had only his Jagan eye and intuition to guide him, since the Bakuhatsubutsu Kori Missiles had no detectable spirit energy and were completely invisible to normal eyes.

Hiei dove behind a snowbank, hoping the great oaf of a demon would lose track of him for at least a few seconds. Tsumetai was just as Koenma had said, powerful and stupid. He was a low class demon, not even capable of speech beyond grunts and roars, but his natural defenses were deadly, as Hiei was quickly discovering.

"Think, idiot. Don't let your pointless feelings cloud your judgement..." He hissed to himself. He had spent almost the whole night on the roof, thinking of Kurama, and at sunrise left the cabin in blind frustration. Now he was here, fighting a seemingly hopeless battle by himself.

He shifted silently when he heard the gigantic feet of Tsumetai crunching snow and coming towards him. He fired a small blast of spirit energy into the air like a firework, and as soon as the ice demon had launched his shard attack in that direction, Hiei dove quickly under his legs. He jumped up and was able to slash only once with his sword before the bumbling demon turned to fire another wave of ice. Hiei had anticipated this and was already in hiding again by the time the crystals had left Tsumetai's mouth. 

"Why does he have to be so thick skinned..." The Jaganshi grumbled. Even a direct hit with his sword barely penetrated the demon's skin, and long distance attacks had almost no effect. It was nearly impossible to get close enough for one swipe of the sword, how would he ever manage to reach a position suitable for a killing blow?

Suddenly he heard Tsumetai roar in pain and fall to the ground with a tremendous crash. Springing up from behind the mound of snow where he had taken cover, he saw that his companions had joined him. Tsumetai hoisted himself up off the ground, clutching his bloody ankle which had just been struck by Kurama's Rose Whip.

"Get down!" Hiei belted, just as a wave of ice crystals came flying at his three fellow spirit detectives. The four of them took shelter behind another snow mound, suffering only minor cuts.

"This thing is a lot faster than I expected..." Yusuke mumbled, panting and yanking a tiny ice shard from his arm.

"No kidding! He's crazy fast, I didn't even get a chance to power up my Spirit Sword and I was getting blasted by all that ice!" Kuwabara added, glancing stealthily over the top of the snow bank to make sure Tsumetai wasn't about to ambush them.

"Well then I'm just gonna have the blast the hell out of that thing with my Spirit Gun!" Yusuke announced, getting ready to stand up.

"No, it won't work." Hiei said. "Only short range attacks have a chance of hurting him, his skin is unbelievably thick."

"Well what do you suggest Mr. Shorty-Pants-Know-It-All?" Kuwabara asked, glaring at Hiei and receiving a considerably more menacing glare in return.

"A logical course of action would be to have someone draw Tsumetai's attention while the others attack," Kurama said calmly.

"I volunteer Kuwabara to be the moving target..." Hiei growled.

"HEY!"

"Shut up you idiot, that big doofus out there is gonna hear you!" Yusuke practically yelled while smacking Kuwabara on the back of the head.

"Oh, like you yelling at me isn't!?" Kuwabara not so quietly yelled back.

The very next moment they heard the huge demon lumbering towards them in a fit of rage.

"Nice going... fools." Hiei hissed at Yusuke and Kuwabara as the foursome rose to face their opponent.

"I will draw his fire while the rest of you attack from behind," Kurama instructed, leaping over the demons head, grabbing him by the fur and pulling him onto his back. 

Tsumetai instantly rolled over and scrambled to his feet. Yusuke and Kuwabara got into position, ready for their opportunity to attack. Kurama then plucked a seed from his hair and surrounded himself with a web of vines held in place around him by his spirit energy. The wall of plant life would absorb the major explosions any ice crystals that managed to hit Kurama.

He ran away from the ice giant but stayed in the line of fire, with tiny shards of ice smashing to the ground at his heals. He paused and turned to face Tsumetai.

"Is that the best you can do, my simple minded foe?"

Tsumetai roared loudly, shaking piles of snow from the surrounding trees and unleashed a humongous cloud of Bakuhatsubustu Kori Missiles directly at Kurama. While he was in the process of launching his attack, Kuwabara sliced at the demon's left side with his Spirit Sword, Yusuke blasted his right side with a Shot Gun attack, and Hiei dashed up underneath him, making one quick jab to the abdomen.

They dispersed as quickly as they had attacked, but Tsumetai was still standing, though he was now missing his left arm and had bloody puncture wounds up and down his shoulder. Hiei's sword had broken the skin, but he had been in a poor position when striking, and had not been able to put enough force in to harm any vital organs .

This had all happened in a fraction of a second, and the moment the trio had finished attacking the ice demon, the Bakuhatsubutsu Kori Missiles hit Kurama with full force.

"Nn!" The red haired boy guarded as best he could, and though his shield of plants had taken the brunt of the blow, several crystals managed to hit him head on, and he was flung backwards.

Time seemed to slow down for Hiei as Kurama hit the snow covered ground. After being so desperately close to him the night before, the sight of his partner lying dazed on the ground sent him into an uncontrollable fury like he had never felt before. His small body suddenly was surrounded by a shield of flames and he lunged head first at Tsumetai. Wave after wave of ice crystals came pelting at him, but disintegrated instantly when they reached the wall of fire.

His eyes glowed red and he screamed in rage as he plunged his sword deep into the demon's heart. Blood began to gush from the wound and swell up in Tsumetai's throat spurting from his mouth, covering Hiei's entire front with the red liquid. The hulking form fell backwards and roared a cry of death and the metal weapon twisted inside his massive body.

Yusuke and Kuwabara looked on in shock as Hiei slid his sword slowly from the body of the dead demon, licked it clean, and placed it back in its sheath. The Jaganshi then closed his eyes, regained his composure, and walked over to his fallen comrade without saying a word.

"Woah..." Kuwabara simply said.

"Mission accomplished... I guess..." Yusuke added, still stunned by the scene that had just taken place.

"Are you alright..." Hiei said softly, helping Kurama sit up.

He shook his head slightly and smiled. "Just caught off guard, apparently. I'll be fine."

"I'm... glad..." the little demon replied in a hushed whisper.

"Hiei, such gentle words from a brave warrior like yourself," Kurama teased as he rose to his feet.

"Hn..." Hiei shook the snow from his tunic as he stood and looked up into Kurama's green eyes before smiling, and vanishing into the forest.

Kurama strolled over to Yusuke and Kuwabara, slowly though, still sore from his new wounds.

"Where the heck is he going?" Yusuke asked. "We're all supposed to report back to Botan."

Kurama just sighed calmly and gazed off into the distance.

"He's going wherever Hiei goes..." Kurama fumbled with the tear gem in his pocket that he had found on the roof, and had a funny feeling Hiei would be waiting on his windowsill when he arrived home.

  
  


****

'That's so sickeningly adorable it makes me want my mommy! WAAAAAAHHHH!!!'

'Sir... you're crying awfully hard... would you like me to get you a tissue, or maybe a-'

'No, *sniffle* just finish the story.'

'Goodness gracious...'

****


	4. Snatched!

"Yes, that's exactly the one I want," he said. Two figures dressed in suits stood watching a large screen in a dark room. They were the type of suits that would allow this pair to blend into a crowd of businessmen and never warrant a second glance. "What is his name again?" dark figure number one asked number two.

"He is called Hiei," the latter answered.

"Of course, so this is the controversial demon that possesses the Jagan eye, how wonderful." Displayed on the screen was a crude recording of the battle with Tsumetai on the snowy mountain top, which had taken place only the day before. This was the only light in the room and the scene played repeatedly while the two spoke.

Turning in his chair, figure number one could be seen if one strained one's eyes, but he appeared to be nothing more than an average man of middle age. Plain suits, plain faces, and plain haircuts allowed these men to go virtually anywhere without being noticed, but concealed within this average exterior was something much more sinister.

"I've made my decision," figure number one proclaimed, apparently the commanding presence of the two. "I would like Hiei next. Go fetch the bait, now, will you?"

"Yes sir," replied figure number two, and he left the room immediately.

The remaining man continued to watch the recording, then pressed a button somewhere in the darkness, pausing the action on a still screen of Hiei. He studied the image carefully and eventually a the corners of his thin lips curved upwards to form a smile.

"Hiei..."

  
  
  
  


"I can't believe I'm doing this..." Hiei thought, momentarily wondering what had possessed him to do the disgustingly human thing he was about to do. 

He stood on the walk in front of the Minamino home, getting ready to ring the doorbell. He had been there for quite a while, debating whether or not he actually wanted to use the front door, rather than jumping through Kurama's bedroom window.

Finally, he summoned enough nerve and rang the bell. He waited, listening to footsteps from inside that sounded like they belonged to a woman. He cringed a bit, not wanting to face Kurama's mother but had prepared for it during his long time standing outside.

The door opened and he was now face to face with a navy blue haired woman, smiling at him. It was Minamino Shiori, Kurama's human mother, who had given him his second chance at life in his current body and who he loved dearly.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a polite and friendly manner to this small stranger.

"Is Ku - is Shuuichi home?"

"I'm afraid he's stepped out for a while with a friend, would you like me to tell him you stopped by?" she answered, still smiling. Hiei's death glare did not seem to affect her cheerful attitude at all.

"No, thank you, goodbye," he replied, and began walking away as quickly as possible, so Shiori would not have a chance to say anything further.

"He must be with that girl again," Hiei mumbled, knowing that Yusuke and Kuwabara had decided to stay home and waste the day sleeping after their battle on the mountain top. Though he knew it was ridiculous to care even the littlest bit about what Kurama did with this human girl, he began to feel a slight twinge of jealousy. He paced down the sidewalk, forgetting his usual route through the tree tops and became lost in thought. His attire of black robes was slightly strange in this warm spring weather and he received one or two stares from passers-by, but he did not notice.

"What's wrong with me..." he growled under his breath, scaring a nearby chipmunk close to death. Having feelings for anyone was not something Hiei wanted, it was far too inconvenient. Even caring for his own sister sometimes felt like a burden he did not deserve, but he loved her all the same. Letting Kurama into his heart, though, would surely prove too much to bear. Why, then, did he feel this sudden closeness? 

"Hiei!" 

The sudden sound of someone in the living world that was not familiar to him calling out his name startled him right out of his deep thoughts. He looked around, trying to find the owner of the voice and spotted Kyo running towards him.

"Hiei! Please, you need to help me!"

He stared at her for a moment not saying anything when she reached him. She was panting furiously and appeared to be injured. Her legs and face were covered in bruises and scrapes, and her clothing was dusty and torn in some places.

"Please, Kurama is in trouble!"

Hiei was now very interested in what she had to say.

"Kurama!?" He grabbed her by the shoulders tightly and raised his voice considerably. "What's happened to him!?"

"S-some beast flew out of the sky towards us," she stuttered, obviously frightened by the small man's grip on her, and even more so by the fact that he had fangs, which she had not noticed during their first meeting.

"What kind of 'beast'?" Hiei growled, leaning closer to her. She was very hesitant to answer, fearing he would do something terrible if she said the wrong thing.

"A huge black beast with wings... it looked dead, with rotting flesh and bones sticking out, and it stank horribly." Hiei loosened his grip slightly, some part of him suddenly realizing he was hurting a friend of Kurama's and making the muscles in his hands relax. Kyo, now becoming less worried that her arms were about to be broken, continued a bit more confidently.

"Then Kurama... he did something amazing, he pulled a huge vine of thorns out of nowhere and began fighting. Some people were running to call the police, but then the monster spit something at him, he fell to the ground and the beast carried him off in its talons..."

Hiei had now let go of her, his teeth were clenched in rage after listening to her recount what had happened.

"Hiei... what if it's killed him?" She choked out, falling to the ground in a heap as tears welled up and she began sobbing. Hiei, of course, had never dealt with a weeping girl before and apparently did not realize how distraught she was. He glared down at her for a moment, narrowed his eyes, and dashed off. Kyo had heard the rustle of grass and looked up not a split second later, but Hiei was gone. From her point of view, he had vanished into thin air, since she knew nothing of the Jaganshi's incredible speed. In fact, she knew nothing of the demon world at all, few humans did, and as anyone could imagine, the sights of her closest friend being kidnapped by a gigantic monster and a black haired boy disappearing before her eyes were overwhelming. Not knowing what else to do, she brought her hands to her face and cried, long and hard.

  
  


****

'Poor Kurama! Will our hero ever be able to survive this ordeal?'

'Oh, sir... really now, you already know what happened after that!'

'Yes but, hearing it again, the suspense is just killing me!'

'Let me continue then.'

****

  
  


"Yusuke!" A woman's voice shouted from outside the teen's bedroom window. "Yusuke, wake up! It's an emergency!"

"Nng... Go away mom, I'm tired..." He moaned, rolling over in his bed and covering his head with a pillow.

"Yusuke, It's Botan! I'm right outside your window, now wake up!" She called to him, pounding on the window pane.

"Huh...? Botan?" He finally managed to drag himself out of bed and walk over to the window. Opening it, he looked down and saw that Botan was floating on her oar, with Kuwabara waiting on the ground below.

"What's the big idea, waking me up like that? And what is that doofus doing with you?" Yusuke groaned, giving Botan a dirty look and wiggling his pinky finger around in his ear.

"You need to get dressed right away, Kurama's been taken."

"Taken!" He now jumped to attention and leaned out the window urgently. "Taken by what!?"

"We haven't been able to find much information on the demon that took him, other than it has a paralyzing saliva that it spits at its enemies to knock them into unconsciousness. They're trying to find out where it came from back in Spirit World, but right now your only goal is to save Kurama!" She informed him while he slipped out of his pajamas and started putting on clothes, not even caring if Botan caught a glimpse of his boxer shorts.

"Crazy acid spitting demons..." Yusuke mumbled as he tugged a shirt over his head.

"Also, just so you know... Hiei's gone on ahead of you, he ran off as soon as he heard what had happened."

"He would..." Yusuke growled when he had finished dressing. "I'll meet you guys outside," he said, hurrying out of his room. He was caught off-guard when he ran into the living room, however, by the sight of his mother, Keiko, and another young girl whom he had never seen before.

"Uh, what's going on?" he asked, scratching the side of his nose and staring at the three like a confused puppy.

"Yusuke, finally you're awake!" Keiko scolded and jumped up in front of him.

"Who is that?" He asked, pointing at the sobbing girl on the sofa who was being offered some cookies by his mother.

"Kurama's friend..." Keiko said in a softer tone, looking back at Kyo. "She was there when Kurama was kidnapped, we're kind of trying to break the whole demon thing to her slowly. Botan thought she deserved to know."

"I guess one more human knowing about demons isn't really going to hurt anybody..." he said while he studied the girl on the couch.

"You'd better get going, Yusuke!" Keiko shouted quickly.

"Oh yeah, I forgot!" He turned and raced out the front door without saying goodbye to meet with Kuwabara and Botan outside.

"Follow me, boys, you can take the bus across town but after that I'm afraid you're going to have to run the rest of the way!" Botan called, flying off towards the other side of town.

"Man, that crazy ice demon and now this, all in the same week!" Kuwabara complained and they ran after Botan.

"It's like somebody is seeing how much we can handle all at once," Yusuke said, glaring up at the sky and wondering if a certain toddler in Spirit World had it out for him.


	5. Paralysis

Battered, dirty, with broken ribs and bleeding wounds, the redhead laid in his cell silently. He was still almost completely paralyzed and the venom pumping into his blood stream from the fang embedded into his neck was not helping matters. On top of everything, his arms and legs were bound tightly by rings of energy as an extra precaution. He could not even move far enough to heal himself, and his spirit energy was completely drained from trying to escape unsuccessfully. 

Barely able to lift his head, and in too much pain to try, he stared through the bars of this cage he was being kept in. All that was visible, however, was the wall on the opposite side of the narrow hallway. He could do nothing but send out a psychic plea for help, and pray that someone would hear his call.

Even if someone did, though, there was no promise that they would be able to rescue him at all. From what he had seen as he was dragged to the cell, the complex he was being held in was fairly secure, guarded, surprisingly, not by human soldiers, but demons, apparently not very strong by themselves but armed with machine guns to keep intruders in line. In line... meaning dead.

"Kurama," a harsh voice called out to him. He lifted his head just enough to see who was speaking, and winced in pain when he did so.

"Allow me to welcome you properly," said the owner of the voice. There, outside the iron bars was the dark figure from the viewing room, still dressed in his plain suit. In proper light, it could be seen that he had the appearance of a normal human man in his late forties. He had greying hair, a slightly wrinkled face, and a deceptively pleasant smile. His eyes, however, were very inhuman indeed. They were blank, milky white and stared endlessly, never needing to blink. The eyes of the un-dead...

"I would not consider this much of a welcome..." Kurama groaned, even in such a vulnerable state, he attempted to maintain his composure.

"Oh, don't worry," the man answered cheerfully, "the real show will begin later, we're just waiting for the guest of honor to arrive."

"Which would be..." Kurama said, straining to hold back cries of pain.

The suited man made a gesture to someone who was not in Kurama's line of sight, and the doors of the holding cell slowly opened. He stepped inside and gazed down at Kurama almost ruefully.

"Why, the only one love struck enough to come racing in here all by himself to rescue you," he answered.

"I haven't the faintest idea who you could be talking about..." Kurama hissed immediately, not even thinking over the statement. The man simply smiled and waited a few short seconds, after which the red haired boy gasped suddenly.

"Hiei..." he barely even breathed out.

The man narrowed his eyes as the realization occurred, and then kicked Kurama in his already aching side before departing. The composure Kurama had been struggling to maintain deteriorated once he was alone. In too much pain to bear, and now fearing for his closest friend's life, he wept uncontrollably. His hot tears poured out onto the grimy cement floor, and his sobs only worsened his pain.

"Hiei... please stay alive."

  
  
  
  


Though not literally hearing Kurama's request, the fire demon picked up speed, feeling a twinge of increased urgency. Using his Jagan eye to guide him, Hiei had raced with his usual blinding speed to the remote country side. He was now racing up a barren mountain, dodging rocks and sickly looking shrubs as he ran.

When he reached the mountain's peak, he was faced with a thick concrete wall rising up from the ground. The towering barricade protected the perimeter of an entire complex and there did not seem to be any visible entrance. Hiei ran round the outside of the wall, searching for a weakness or an opening.

"It's too high to jump..." he muttered. The wall was indeed too tall to leap over, even for someone with Hiei's extraordinary abilities. "Only one way in then..." he said with a devious grin. 

The Jaganshi backed up a few feet, steadied himself, and threw an enormous punch directly at the wall. When his fist made contact, hairline cracks extended rapidly in every direction. That section of the wall shook violently for several seconds, until a huge portion came crashing down, leaving a hole that was more than big enough to accommodate Hiei's size.

The instant he entered the complex, sirens began to go off and he could hear several creatures approaching his position. He moved stealthily behind buildings with his lighting fast speed in search of Kurama. He felt intense pressure burning inside him with each step he took. He followed the lead of the quickening beats of his heart and knew he was getting closer to his missing half.

Through windows and down corridors he crept while obviously brainless pursuers tailed him. They would have no luck for the moment, Hiei was like a wild animal stalking its most sought after prey, and he would not be stopped at any cost.

He then felt an intense pain searing in his forehead behind his third eye. Kurama's psychic wails of pain were deafening now, and he knew he was not far off.

"What have you done to him... bastards..."

He turned a corner and discovered a long yellow hallway, near the end of which he could vaguely make out the doors of prison cells. Just as he was about to begin his dash down the hall, however, he was confronted by a large group of guards coming from both directions.

"Just try and stop me now!" he roared as he ran headfirst into the barricade. Countless bullets flew towards them but he dodged them skillfully as he darted ahead. But the security was apparently more efficient than Hiei had thought. Without warning, he felt a sharp pain in his back and was suddenly paralyzed. He turned to see a large dart, full of venom, stabbing into his skin, and in an instant he could not move an inch. He was grabbed by the arms and two guards proceeded to drag him away, in the exact opposite direction of Kurama. 

Whether the paralysis-inducing poison was simply not effective on Hiei's anatomy, or whether his will to save his red haired counterpart overcame the effects is not known, but, somehow, Hiei quickly regained his strength. He burst out of the guards' clutches, flinging them with a tremendous force against the walls and killing them instantly. Rather than go back and try to free Kurama again, though, he made the decision to flee for the time being and formulate a better plan of action. 

The small demon raced down numerous halls and leapt out the first window he set his eyes on. Running as fast as he possibly could, he escaped the complex and went down the mountain, vanishing into the forest below. 

****

'Woo! Go, Hiei! He's such a bad-ass!'

'Sir, calm yourself! It's not like you didn't already know about all this.'

'But the way you tell it, it makes everything seem so much more exciting.'

'Why thank you sir, I don't think you've ever actually complimented me before.'

'Well, don't get used to it... now keep going!'

****

  
  


Hiei, who for the past several minutes had been sneering at the hilltop complex, glanced down to the forest floor below his perch in a tall tree when he heard Yusuke's voice calling out to him.

"Hiei!"

He leapt down from the treetop and landed gracefully before them.

"We finally found you! We've been running around that stupid wall thing with guys shooting at us for half the day!" Kuwabara shouted, catching his breath.

"More like five minutes, Kuwabara..." Yusuke corrected with a glare.

"Well... I'm glad you're here," Hiei said to the two.

"Uh... really?" Kuwabara asked, scratching the back of his head, somewhat surpsied to hear the fire demon display any type of gratitude towards them.

"Yes, a diversion is exactly what I needed."

"Diversion!" Yusuke yelled. "We're here to help rescue Kurama, not to be your decoys!"

"A diversion is all I need you for!" Hiei suddenly roared, shaking the smaller tree branches surrounding them. "I can handle this myself!"

"What's the matter with you!?" Yusuke roared back, getting right up in Hiei's face. "Kurama is all of our friend, not just yours!"

"Just do what I say or I'll kill you myself..." The Jaganshi hissed, glaring up at Yusuke with his piercing red eyes.

"Uh, guys!" Kuwabara said urgently. "Don't you think we ought to go save Kurama instead of arguing? They could be ripping his head off or something right now!" He pointed up towards the complex and waited for Hiei and Yusuke to give some kind of response.

Hiei took a step back from the Spirit Detective and started to run up the rocky mountainside. 

"Follow me." 

They dashed up the slope and through the hole Hiei had blasted previously, having to take out six or seven guards on the way.

"Just draw as much attention as possible," Hiei commanded. "And don't get hit by their tranquilizer darts, they're filled with a paralyzing venom."

"Must be from that flying monster thing..." Kuwabara deduced.

"Now shut up and go!" Hiei hissed as he vanished from sight.

"Hey, now why the hell should we take orders from him!" Kuwabara began complaining.

"Just do what he says this time... I think he knows what he's doing," answered Yusuke, deciding that Hiei knew more about the compound they had just entered and more about Kurama than he or Kuwabara did. Yusuke had a steamy temper, but he was not completely unreasonable.

The two of them sprinted off in different directions and began making a ruckus to attract a majority of the guards away from Hiei. Meanwhile, the fire demon followed the same route he had taken before, though in a much more hurried manner. He met barely any opposition on the way and reached Kurama's holding cell quickly. He stopped short when he looked through the thick bars when he saw the sight within.

Kurama was on the floor in a heap, his normally well groomed hair was matted with blood and tangled. He drew each ragged breath with much difficulty, and did not appear to be able to move. Hiei's hardened heart came close to breaking when he saw the normally proud and graceful Kurama in such a condition.

"Kurama..."

The injured boy moved slightly and then began to sit up. The paralysis was finally wearing off, but he still could not move very easily at all.

"Hiei... At last."

Hiei gripped the bars of the prison cell tightly and used all of his strength to rip the door from its hinges and throw it behind him. He was by Kurama's side in an instant, giving him the support he needed to stay sitting.

"You must get out as quickly as possible," Kurama said suddenly.

"Why, after I get you to safety I'm going to destroy this place with my bare hands," Hiei replied.

"No, you don't understand, it's you they are after."

"What...?" Hiei raised his eyebrows and gave Kurama a very puzzled look. Before he could answer though, a whirring sound was heard from underneath the floor of the cell. Kurama, who in his former life was a master of locks and booby-traps recognized the sound very easily.

"Hiei! Get out right now!" he yelled.

In an observation room on the other end of the complex, the dark figure who was the mastermind behind all that had happened, was watching everything on his gigantic monitor. 

"I'll bury you alive, little demon. Then you're mine."

Hiei had hoisted Kurama over his shoulder and dove down the hallway just as the row of prison cells began exploding. All around them fire erupted from the walls and the building began to crumble. The Jaganshi skidded around a corner just in time to see Yusuke and Kuwabara race past.

"Get out! The whole place is about to collapse!" He screamed, and dashed through a wall of fire towards the door he had come in through. He sensed Yusuke and Kuwabara were following not too far behind and picked up speed, holding onto Kurama's body tightly. When they had nearly reached the exit, the whole ceiling suddenly collapsed in front of them, blocking the way. Explosions and fire surged from the floors below them, and the only way out now was up. 

"Hey! Hiei! There's stairs right behind us!" He heard Yusuke shout through the fire. He turned on the spot and began climbing the staircase with his two allies. Up they went, with fire nipping at their heels and the ground shaking beneath them. The entire complex was seconds from crumbling to the ground when the group reached the roof. 

Hiei could see only one means of escape. He ran at full speed towards the edge of the flaming roof and took a flying leap off the edge just as the surface they had just been standing on erupted into a huge mass of flames. The power of the explosion flung all four of them down the mountainside, and they only stopped when they made impact with the forest floor...


	6. Moonlight

Hiei, who we all know would not let a little thing like falling down a mountain take his life, was now nervously entering the office of Lord Koenma. It was unusual for Hiei to be nervous, but he had just made a very important decision concerning his future... and now had to let his superior know.

Kurama had been taken to Spirit World as well, so his injuries could be treated. Hiei had stayed in solitude for hours thinking everything over, and was finally ready. He stepped into the room and saw the person sitting in the desk chair had it turned towards the wall. This was better for him, he would not have to make any eye contact while he announced his resignation.

"Koenma... right now I don't care if you send me back to prison for it, but I'm leaving this alliance." He said firmly, and continued without waiting for an answer. "I... don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me." He looked down at the floor and felt slightly ashamed, he was not used to showing the feelings he hid under his cold and indifferent shield. He now patiently awaited Koenma's reply, but none came. Instead of receiving a response, the large chair began to slowly turn around.

"Sorry to hear that you're leaving," the redhead said with a smug grin.

"Ku- Kurama..." he stuttered, shocked to see him there. He was covered in bandages and had new clothes on, but there he was nonetheless.

"Why have you developed a sudden interest in leaving our group?" he asked, standing from the chair and rounding the desk to stand before Hiei.

"I already said..." he hissed, hiding away any of the sensitivity he had just allowed to show.

"There's no need to worry about me, if that's it," Kurama said. "I'm perfectly alright now, the doctors here in Spirit World are very efficient."

Hiei stared at the bandages on Kurama's face and hands and wondered how many more were hidden under his clothing. He could also tell that the fox was still in some pain by the stiff way he was standing. Despite it all though, he still wore a smile on his handsome face.

"Fine..." was all he managed to say, even though his head was crammed full of thoughts and questions. "I'll see you later."

"Oh, Hiei," Kurama called as the Jaganshi began walking out of the room. Hiei stopped by kept his back to Kurama.

"After all we've been through in the past few days, perhaps you'd like to come to my house and relax. I'd like you to meet Shiori properly."

"Your mother?" He turned and asked. Kurama nodded.

Hiei did not answer but instead of making a snide remark, he smiled slightly.

"I'll be waiting for you tomorrow evening then. Mother and I will prepare something special for supper." Kurama said, beaming. Hiei made a sound of approval and departed in the blink of an eye. The redhead seated himself back in Koenma's throne and stared fondly at the spot where Hiei had just been standing. He wondered how Hiei would handle eating supper in a human household and chuckled slightly. He leaned back and thought of the following day with a fond anticipation, wondering what he would cook for his little fire demon. 

  
  
  
  


It was late afternoon on the day Kurama had returned to his home in the human world. He had tried to hide his injuries from his mother the best he could, claiming he had fallen during gym class at school. He had not actually attended school in the past two days, but Shiori believed his story. He sometimes felt rather guilty, having to hide his true self from her, but he was always as honest as he possibly could be without raising any suspicions.

At the moment, though, the only thing on his mind was making sure supper was ready on time, knowing Hiei could arrive at any second. He hurried back and forth throughout the kitchen gathering serving plates and putting the finishing touches on the meal he had prepared. Shiori giggled slightly watching her normally calm son moving around so frantically. He then dropped one of the plates he had been holding on the tile floor and it shattered to pieces.

"Forgive me, mother..." He said, when Shiori paused from her task of setting the table to help him clean up the broken dish.

"This friend of yours must be very important," she said, not minding the shattered plate at all. "I've never seen you act so flustered, Shuuichi."

"I just want to make a good impression..." he confessed, blushing slightly. They had just finished discarding the remains of the broken plate when the doorbell rang. For a split second Kurama seemed panicked, dinner was not even ready to be served yet.

"You go get the door," Shiori said, placing a hand on his shoulder to calm him. "I'll finish up in here."

"Thank you, mother," he said gratefully, kissing her on the cheek and exiting the kitchen. When he opened the front door, there was Hiei, eyeing a rose bush suspiciously. He had donned human clothes, Kurama was not even going to bother asking where he had gotten them, but he had to admit that the fire demon looked rather nice in his tight fitting jeans.

"I'm not accustomed to using the doorbell," Hiei mumbled, stepping inside and wandering through the living room without taking his shoes off.

"It's proper to remove your shoes at the front door," Kurama instructed. Hiei glared at him momentarily but then set his sneakers carefully on the doormat. After this, he continued walking through the living room, picking up random objects from their resting places, examining them, and setting them back down. He wondered why humans insisted on keeping so many useless knick-knacks in their homes, but instead said,

"Erm... nice house."

"Thank you," Kurama said, the side of his mouth twitching, as he was smiling so broadly his mouth would most likely ache later.

"Shuuichi, dinner's ready!" called Shiori some inside the kitchen.

"Are you ready to eat?" Kurama asked Hiei.

"Why not," he said, shrugging and following Kurama into the kitchen. The red head approached Shiori so he could introduce the two of them. Hiei felt slightly bitter looking up at her, as even most women he knew were taller than he was.

"Mother, this is Hiei," Kurama announced, still grinning.

"You're the boy who came looking for Shuuichi the other day," she said, remembering their brief encounter at the front door. "It's lovely to see you again," she continued, bowing to him politely. Hiei was not exactly sure what to say and instead looked over at the food on the table, sniffing deeply to determine what had been prepared. "You must be hungry," Shiori said, pulling out a chair for him.

"Don't worry about that, mother, I'll get it," Kurama said, pulling out a chair for Shiori and seating her. When he turned to seat Hiei he saw that the little Jaganshi had already sat down and begun eating. Kurama slapped him on the hand, making him drop his food and then sat down.

"Oh my..." Shiori giggled quietly.

Hiei narrowed his eyes at Kurama but then simply raised an eyebrow and watched as Kurama and Shiori said the customary "Itadakimasu" before beginning to eat. Hiei had never eaten in a human home before and was not quiet sure what was going on, but assumed now was the time to eat. He proceeded to dive into his food like a rabid animal, not having eaten anything the day before. He could not deny that the human food Kurama had prepared was delicious compared to the crude things he had grown up eating in Demon World. He downed an entire helping and was starting on his second when Shiori asked,

"Hiei, do you go to Shuuichi's school?"

He paused his feeding frenzy and wiped his mouth off with a napkin that was lying next to his dinner plate. 

"I'm... out of school." He said. It was not a complete lie, considering he had never actually been to one.

"So you must be older than Shuuichi," Shiori said.

"You could say that..." Kurama said a bit nervously, worried his mother might ask a question Hiei could not easily answer.

Shiori was not exactly sure what her son had meant by his last comment, but just assumed it must have something to do with Hiei's height. 

"How old are you, Hiei?" She continued her questions one might expect during a first meeting.

"Old," was all that Hiei said in reply.

"I'm sure you think that now, but someday you'll look back on your youth and wonder where it all went," she said, then sighing fondly, thinking of days gone by.

Hiei glanced at Kurama with a look that asked "What is she talking about?", but Kurama did nothing except smile awkwardly. They talked about random subjects throughout the rest of the meal, Hiei not saying much, but listening quiet closely. He was trying to decide whether he liked this woman or not, and by the time he finally decided that he did, dinner was over.

"I'll clean everything up, mother," Kurama said to Shiori when she started clearing her place.

"But I thought you would rather go have fun with your friend," she replied.

"Don't worry, tomorrow is Saturday, we have all night to enjoy ourselves, right Hiei?"

Hiei, who had been peering curiously inside the toaster looked up suddenly and said, "Er... right."

Shiori made her way out of the kitchen and up the stairs, saying she was just going to read for a while before bed, so the boys would have the house to themselves. Kurama gathered up all the dishes and began washing them throughly while Hiei poked and prodded at the appliances on the counter. Kurama watched, amused, knowing he had been inside Yusuke's house several times but must not have spent a great deal of time in the kitchen.

"Enjoying yourself?" He asked playfully.

"Not really," replied Hiei, glaring menacingly at the oven door that had just slammed shut on his finger. Kurama sighed as he finished putting the dishes away.

"I told Shiori you were spending the night, if that's alright," he said.

"I am?" Hiei asked.

"If you like."

Hiei shrugged and left the kitchen, apparently not caring either way, though Kurama wished he would. They spent the rest of the evening watching old horror movies, Hiei yelling furiously at an obviously fake three-eyed monster and Kurama hushing him, worrying he would wake Shiori up.

Around midnight, they ascended the stairs to Kurama's bedroom, which was absolutely filled with potted plants of every type. Some were quite larger than normal and bloomed in abnormal colors, Kurama had no doubt used his spirit energy to help them along. Then Hiei noted that, like the mountain cabin, there was only one bed, though slightly larger than last time. His heart skipped a beat but he made sure not to display any outward emotion.

Kurama began undressing in front of him, Hiei tried not to watch and got the impression that the fox was trying to tease him, but then cursed himself, thinking that couldn't possibly be so. Kurama had now changed into a set of green silk pajamas.

"Do you need something to wear to bed?" He asked.

"No." Hiei removed his shirt, socks, and headband instead and sat down on the corner of the bed. Kurama had started brushing his hair, very slowly Hiei noted. He watched for what seemed like an excruciatingly long amount of time, until Kurama finally set his hairbrush down and climbed into bed. Hiei did the same, but felt slightly uncomfortable being in the same bed as the redhead once again. 

"Did you enjoy dinner?" Kurama asked once they had settled under the covers.

"I guess..."

Hiei felt his heart starting to beat harder with each second had passed, the hard shell he kept around himself seemed to be crumbling pathetically. Why did he feel so strongly for the green eyed boy staring back at him? He knew it was meaningless, knew it was wrong... or at least that is what he tried to tell himself.

Kurama reached out unexpectedly and began to lightly touch the lid over his Jagan eye.

"I've always been curious, what does it feel like?" he asked.

"It feels... normal to me, I've had it for so long." He opened it now, revealing the purple iris underneath, and looked at Kurama. An eye which saw not only the body, but the spirit, the mind, even the soul, looked at the fox deeply and carefully. Kurama waited, knowing Hiei could see every thought he was thinking, wondering what would happen.

Hiei opened his normal pair of red eyes and closed the Jagan. Their gazes locked on each other. The fire demon had never been this near to anyone... ever. Now, on top of all his current confusion, he knew Kurama's desires. He could not decide whether it was good or bad, to know the feelings were... mutual.

Kurama suddenly began moving towards him, slowly but directly. He had the urge to flee, to dive out the open window and vanish into the night, but did not. The red haired boy was inches from him now, Hiei could feel his breath. Kurama threaded his fingers through the Jaganshi's silky black hair and tipped his head to the side. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, as their lips met, and the next thing Hiei knew, they were kissing deeply.

All apprehension was cast aside, as was all clothing. The fire demon's fangs moved down their partner's neck, kissing and biting him at the same time. They pressed closer than ever before, their sweat mixing together. Green eyes were glazed over, their owner overcome by complete and utter ecstacy. The comforter had slipped to the floor long ago, and it was just the two, joined as one. The bed was littered with tear gems, and long red hair that had been so carefully brushed was now in tangles, weaving in and out of fingers. Their bodies were heating up, the hot sweat lubricating the movement between them. The heated rhythm was like a silent symphony. For the little demon, every sensation was new, the joy, the pain, the feeling of another's skin touching his own. The mix of excitement and fear was nearly unbearable. He gripped the sheets tightly, most likely ripping them but not caring. He was afraid. The urge he felt now though, was uncontrollable. All thoughts were pushed away, allowing him to taste the sweetness of the moment. 

For the youko, this was also new, but he had been experiencing intimacy his whole human life, and the event was not quite as earthshattering. What came next was, however. The fox's toes clenched tightly and he gasped when overtaken by a sudden rush of undescribable pleasure that had been building up deep inside him. Every flower bud in the room suddenly burst open into a blossom and seed pods exploded, causing a cloud of white tufts to fill the room. The Jaganshi was shaking, exhausted, the redhead's strong arms still clutching him tightly. The moans that had rang out just moments before where replaced by ragged panting. The white balls of fuzz attached to the seeds dancing in the air settled onto the fire demon's sweat drenched back and formed a fluffy blanket on his skin. His partner brushed them aside, smiling fondly up at the little Jaganshi.

"I hope we haven't woken Shiori...." the redhead whispered breathlessly.

"Shut up," Hiei hissed, and kissed him again.


	7. Seven Days

**** 

'Now, just how do you know all of this...?' 

'Let's just say it's woman's intuition for now.' 

**** 

Morning came all too soon. The floor littered with flower petals and Hiei's scent still strong on the sheets were the only evidence of the previous night's encounter, the Jaganshi was gone. 

"Unable to face the morning after..." Kurama sighed. He dressed and showered quickly, cleaned his room and was out of the house before Shiori had even awoken. It was warm outside, though the sun had just barely risen. Spring was over and summer was in full bloom. 

Somewhere in the heavily leafed trees, the little fire demon observed his partner's activities as the morning progressed. Kurama strolled through the park and into town, sensing a presence but not bothering to investigate, knowing he was in no danger. After buying a small bouquet around eight, he reached Kyo's home and was greeted by the overemotional and ecstatic girl before he could present her with it. This was the first she had seen him since his abduction and she could not contain her relief to see him healthy with her own eyes. Hiei glared seeing her fling her arms around Kurama and resisted the urge to pounce. Hadn't he finally claimed Kurama as his? 

"Hn." He left. 

Of course, things could never be so simple. Kurama was mostly human, after all, and humans just refuse to do things the simple way. 

At breakfast, Kurama divulged his entire secret to Kyo, and explained in horrifying detail what had happened the previous day. She quickly lost her appetite, but hung on his every word, amazed at what she was hearing. She was tempted to believe that meeting the red haired boy and all his strange acquaintances was a dream, but no matter how many times she pinched herself, there she was. Obviously, this outlandish story of demons and spirits was the honest truth. 

"So if you love him, why not just tell him that?" She asked when Kurama had finished, stirring her tea. 

"Hiei is not exactly an easy person to confess your love to..." He sighed. 

"Well, he obviously likes you too," she said, blushing, recalling Kurama's vivid retelling of the night's encounter. 

"Yes, but I fear if I'm too open I may push him away." Kurama glanced out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of the fire demon and wondering when he had stopped his pursuit. "He's lived a life devoid of affection, from both family and lovers. I have no idea how he must be handling things." 

"I've never known anybody who had such a hard time dealing with a thing like love. Love should be a happy thing, not something to suffer over," Kyo replied. 

"Hiei would have to admit his emotions exist before being able to deal with them." 

"A rose..." 

Kurama turned his gaze from the window and looked up. Kyo was smiling. 

"That's what you need to do, give him a rose." 

Kurama laughed slightly. "I'm not sure Hiei is the type that would accept a simple bouquet." 

"A rose is a symbol of love," she said, clasping her hands together and sighing dreamily. "Cut him a rose from your garden, he'll understand." 

"A demon's idea of romance may be a bit different from yours, Kyo," he said, pushing the idea to the back of his mind for the time being. 

"Oh no!" She said suddenly, noting the time. "I need to get going, Kurama. I'll see you tomorrow though." Kurama nodded and they hugged quickly before she raced out the door and down the sidewalk. As she hurried off, pigtails flailing behind her, she never noticed the sulking Jaganshi in a tree high above. 

"Damn you, Kurama... Why do you make me feel this way?" 

"They're called Calypso," the child prince Koenma announced from his throne. 

"Not a very intimidating name..." Hiei scoffed. He and Kurama were together in the office for their briefing, but had failed to make eye contact or speak to each other so far. 

"It's an acronym, standing for 'Certain Apocalypse: Liberated Yokai Political Separatists Organization'," he continued, shuffling through papers on his desk on the information that had been gathered. "They're been forming a presence in the human world slowly over the past few years, so discreetly though, that they're flown under the radar and we have nearly no knowledge of what they're up to. Apparently they're raising an army of demons to take over earth and throw the controlling forces of the three worlds out of power, hence the name, Certain Apocalypse." 

"The end of the world as we know it," Kurama said grimly. 

"Correct," replied Koenma. "The base you destroyed was not their main headquarters. The number of demon sightings on earth as actually increased since Kurama's rescue last week. Compared to the demons they have under their control though... Tsumetai was just a low class flunky." 

"So what are you trying to say, that we have no chance of succeeding?" Hiei snapped. 

"Not at all, what we plan on doing is destroying the powers controlling this demon uprising and hopefully the entire organization will fall apart." 

"Destroy the head and the rest of the beast will die," Kurama mused. 

"The only problem is finding the group or person in charge. I've got a huge section of my staff doing field research right now, but Calypso has kept everything so hush-hush, it's hard to find a demon who's willing or able to divulge any information." Koenma leaned forward on his desk, sucking his pacifier and pouting. 

"We're aiming for an all out infiltration of the organization in one week, we just have to find out the location before then..." He said, sitting up again and leaning back in his throne, regaining his professionalism. 

"You're setting rather high goals, aren't you?" Kurama asked. 

"If those no good ogres working for me don't find the location of the main headquarters within the week's time, believe me, heads will roll. I'm hoping the deadline will make everyone work harder and faster," Koenma said firmly. For a baby, he could be a ruthless boss at times. 

"Well anyway, that's really all the information I have for you right now. Relay it to Yusuke and Kuwabara immediately, and when the week is up, Botan will contact you and let you know if we're ready to attack. All you four have to do is be prepared." 

"That sounds simple enough," Kurama said. 

"And if you're NOT ready in a week?" Hiei said, glaring down at his superior. 

"I don't know!" Koenma wailed, pounding his fists on the desk. "Just go along with it for now! With so little information, this is the best plan I could come up with!" 

"Idiot..." Hiei mumbled under his breath. 

"I'm going to go take a nap now," Koenma announced, hopping down from his chair and walking towards the exit. "And don't worry, we'll make the deadline. Isn't that right!?" He yelled at a random ogre walking innocently down the hallway. 

"Uh, yes, Lord Koenma!" The ogre shouted, running off as quickly as possible to find more work to do. 

The door slammed behind the small prince and Kurama and Hiei were left alone. The redhead perched on the edge of the large desk and smiled fondly at Hiei, who was glaring off into a corner. 

"Nothing to say?" He asked sweetly, flipping his hair over his shoulder. 

"What would you like me to say?" he huffed, finally looking at Kurama. 

"I noticed you were following me this morning on my way to see Kyo," he said. 

"How observant of you," Hiei grumbled, sitting down on the other side of Koenma's desk. 

Kurama slid over to him, placing one hand lighting on the Jaganshi's shoulder and speaking breathily into his ear. 

"It's a strange coincidence, Koenma has set the date of our battle for a week from now, and I just happen to have this week off from school as well." 

Hiei did not move, but glanced nervously over at the grinning Youko at his side. 

"And why is that important...?" 

Kurama could sense Hiei's body heat rising and see a blush creeping onto his childlike face. It made him very satisfied that his flirtatious behavior could make the stoic demon become so vulnerable. 

"I was wondering if you'd like to spend this week of free time with me," he said. 

"At your house?" He asked, turning to face him at last, and raising one black eyebrow. 

"Shiori won't mind if I have a friend stay for vacation. In fact, she'll be thrilled to be able to spend more time with you," he said, his chin resting on Hiei's shoulder by now. "She's quite fond of you already, you know." 

"How wonderful that I have your mother's approval to see you," he said sarcastically. 

Kurama smiled, quite comfortable with the closeness of the current situation. Hiei was not, however, his fists were clenched so tightly with nervousness that his nails were digging into his palms. It was taking nearly every ounce of his self control to keep from pouncing or running or screaming, one of the three. Why did Kurama have to toy with him like this, didn't he realize his playfulness was driving him quietly insane? 

"So will you stay?" The fox asked, leaning away from Hiei when he suddenly realized how uneasy he was making him. "A soft bed is more comfortable than a hard tree, I'd say." 

"You're asking me to spend seven days as a human, you know." 

"I've spent sixteen years as a human, and it's not as horrible as you make it out to be," Kurama said. 

Hiei sighed and looked at the floor. If Kurama could spend so long trapped in such a fragile body, surely he had the strength to live among mankind for a week. 

"Set another place at dinner," he said, and had vanished from the room before Kurama's green eyes could blink. He smiled contentedly and rose to leave, wondering excitedly how their relationship would develop over the next several days. 

**** 

'Who do they think they are!? Using my desk as a love seat?' 

'Oh please, sir, get over yourself.' 

'But I just had a new finish put on it...' 

**** 

_Day One~~_

Shiori approached the front door and opened it upon hearing the bell. There stood Hiei on the front walk, in a different outfit from last time. He looked quite presentable in human clothes, in fact, wherever he was getting them.... 

"Hiei, its so nice to see you again," she said cheerfully. "You left so early the other day I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. Shuuichi is upstairs in his room, by the way." 

"Thank you," Hiei said, stepping inside and remembering to remove his shoes. He placed them carefully by the door as Shiori closed it behind him. 

"It's been quite a while since we had a guest stay with us. It'll be nice having another friendly face to greet each morning," she said. 

Hiei made his way up the stairs, wondering just what she found so friendly about his face. He peeked through the door to Kurama's bedroom and found him sitting at his desk, focused on the book he was reading. 

"You're here early," he said happily, without looking up. 

"What are you reading?" The Jaganshi asked, peering over Kurama's shoulder. 

"It's homework, quite a boring piece of literature actually." He closed the book and set it down on the surface of the desk, standing to face Hiei. "But we all must do well our part. I wouldn't want to disappoint mother by losing my rank as top student." 

"Why do you care, anyway?" He asked, sitting lightly on the corner of the bed. 

"It's not as if it's a challenge to earn high marks in a human high school," Kurama said, moving beside him. "Besides, mother has very high hopes for me." 

"You're really planning on staying here?" 

"I doubt I would be welcome if I tried to live in the demon world once again," he said, reaching onto the night stand and proceeding to tie his hair back with the ribbon he had grabbed from it. "I'd like to make the best of the time I have left here, anyway..." 

Hiei blinked, realizing for the first time the mortality Kurama was faced with. Humans lived such painfully short lives, and the thought of his only true friend growing old and dying in less than a century did not sit well with him. 

"Can't you just find another body..." 

"I was a selfish thief when I entered the body of the woman I now call my mother. But after growing to love her and the life she has provided for me... I've accepted that when this body dies, my time is finally over." He said calmly, not a hint of sadness or regret in his voice. "In an ideal situation, I wouldn't mind returning to my old form and living another millennia, but I believe that is simply not meant to be." 

"You accept your fate very easily," Hiei said solemnly. 

"Does the thought of life without me sadden you?" Kurama asked bluntly. 

The fire demon turned to lock eyes with him. His expression was kind, he was not trying to put him on the spot or dig for answers, he was only asking, innocently and purely if he would be missed by the one that was most dear to him. 

"I think you know the answer to that already," he said, standing from the bed and walking across the room. 

Kurama closed his eyes and smiled. It would not be easy for the Jaganshi to confess his true feelings, no matter how much they were overwhelming him. 

"Mother is planning on taking us both out for dinner," he said, changing the subject. 

"Out where?" 

"I'll take it you've never been in a restaurant before?" Kurama asked, always amused by Hiei's complete cluelessness when it came to human culture. 

"Obviously not." 

"I'll do my best to guide you through it," the redhead replied. 

That evening, as a special treat, Shiori took the two boys out to a moderately fancy, but not overly expensive restaurant. Kurama did all of Hiei's ordering for him, doing his best to pick out something he thought his friend would enjoy. He and Shiori chatted endlessly while they waited for their meals to arrive, Hiei listening intently the whole time. He wanted to observe and learn as much as he possibly could about life in the human world, as to not make a fool of himself or end up in any awkward situations during the next week. 

The soup of the evening arrived soon, but when placed before him, Hiei grabbed both sides of the bowl and was about to bring the entire thing to his mouth and drink it. 

"Use your soup spoon..." Kurama whispered. 

The demon stared down at the assorted pieces of silverware laying before him until Kurama picked up the correct spoon and placed it in his hand. 

"Just try to do as I do," he said softly, hoping Shiori would not pay much attention to Hiei's lack of fine dining knowledge. 

"You have a very interesting hairstyle, Hiei," Shiori said while sipping her soup. "I keep telling Shuuichi he should cut his since he's getting older now, but he insists on keeping it long." 

"Mother, we've been over this a hundred times," Kurama laughed, elbowing Hiei roughly in the side when he spotted him wiping his mouth on his shirt sleeve. He narrowed his eyes at the grinning redhead and obligingly grabbed his napkin. 

"Are you planning on attending a university?" Shiori asked him. Hiei did not understand why but she appeared to be exceedingly interested in everything he had to say. 

"No," he answered, finishing off his soup. "I have... other interests." 

"That's right, Shuuichi's told me you're a martial artist," she said, smiling. He nodded, slowly, in response, and supposed in human terms that was correct enough. 

"Maybe you could open your own dojo. Who knows, you may even be famous some day," she said, laughing slightly and Kurama joining in. 

"He'll probably be embarrassed for me to say this but, Shuuichi has been talking about you nearly nonstop ever since he first mentioned your visit." 

"Mother..." 

Hiei glanced beside him and noticed Kurama was blushing slightly. Though it was a trivial and human thing to do, for that moment he was nothing more than a teenager being embarrassed by his mother. The Jaganshi found this reaction to be quite funny, in fact, and actually started to smile. 

"You two must be very fond of each other, I think," Shiori said, causing Kurama to blush even more furiously. Fortunately, though, their meals arrived at that time and all three were saved the trouble of making conversation as they dug happily into their long awaited food. 

That evening, Hiei sat on the windowsill of Kurama's room while the redhead slept comfortably in his bed. He stared out at the summer night, the moon was shining so brightly it lit up the world as if it were day. Even the fire demon could not help but admire the simplistic beauty. 

"I guess it's not so bad..." he thought, studying the landscape of the human world displayed before him. 

An even more beautiful sight lay slumbering peacefully in the bed below him, though. Kurama looked completely innocent and harmless when he was sleeping, and Hiei noticed a faint smile on his lips. He must have been having pleasant dreams, and the Jaganshi silently hoped they were of him. He crouched down on the edge of the bed, leaning over as stealthily as possible to steal a small kiss. Kurama thankfully did not stir, and Hiei then exited through the window to go sleep in a tree. 

**** 

'What's up with him and trees? Is it some kind of fetish?' 

'I... don't know, sir.' 

**** 

_Day Two~~_

Hiei was awoken abruptly the next morning by something fluffy hitting him in the face. He blinked and looked down at the lawn below him, Kurama was standing there smirking with his hair tied up in a bun and an apron over his clothes. 

"Well good morning," he said, grinning up at the demon in the tree. 

"What is this?" Hiei snarled, holding up the object Kurama had hurled at him like it was some kind of disease infested animal. 

"A feather duster," Kurama announced. "Monday is cleaning day, and as a temporary resident of this house, I expect you to help." He then hung another apron he had been carrying with him on the lowest branch of the tree and strolled back inside the house. 

Hiei leapt down, bringing the feather duster with him. He picked up the apron and growled. 

"Pink..." 

Inside, Shiori was vacuuming the carpet in the living room and Kurama was watering potted plants by the window. 

"I am NOT wearing this," Hiei snarled, flinging the pink apron at Kurama, who caught it with one hand, his other hand never leaving the plants he was sprinkling with water. 

"But I thought it would complement your otherwise black attire quite nicely," he joked. 

"That would be mine," Shiori said, stepping away from the vacuum and grabbing her apron, batting Kurama playfully on the back of the head. 

"You don't really have to help of course," Shiori said, setting the apron down and moving back to her vacuum. He normally would have agreed completely and stormed off, never envisioning himself doing something as foolish as house work. For some reason, though, watching Kurama contentedly watering his plants made it seem so much less foolish. 

"What do you need me to do," he said, holding up the feather duster and looking to Shiori for instructions. Kurama smiled out the window as Shiori set Hiei to work dusting the entire house. 

"I'll have a big breakfast ready for you two if you do a good job!" Shiori promised, as she walked into the kitchen to clean and then prepare their food. Hiei appeared to quicken the pace of his dusting from the lazy strokes of a moment before. The word 'breakfast' had suddenly reminded him how hungry he was. Having a hot meal prepared for him instead of having to find one himself was actually something he had been looking forward to lately. 

"Are you sure you wouldn't like the apron?" Kurama teased. "The feather duster is just begging for something to go with it." 

"Don't push it, Kurama..." He growled, smacking him with the duster as he walked by. That had actually been a harder hit than he had intended it to be, but Kurama did not seem to mind. 

Within an hour, the house was spotless and the scent of breakfast was wafting in from the kitchen. The two boys proceeded to put all the cleaning items away and when asked to return the Electrolux to the closet, Hiei looked frustratedly around the living room for ten minutes until Kurama grabbed the vacuum cleaner that was sitting right in front of him and dragged it to the closet, laughing the entire time. Hiei then threw an armful of dustpans and brooms at the green eyed boy, knocking him face first into the back of the closet. 

When he had righted himself, he was not upset at all. He only laughed, quite loudly in fact. His red hair was grey with dust and his bun had nearly fallen out. Hiei stared with utter confusion until Kurama grabbed his wrist and pulled him down onto the floor. 

"You never cease to amuse me," he said, smiling fondly. 

"What are you talking about..." Hiei mumbled, their closeness making him uneasy. 

"Nevermind," Kurama said, still smiling. He stood and dusted himself off. "We should go and get breakfast before it becomes cold. Let me just brush my hair first..." he said, wandering off to his bedroom. Hiei would have much rather sat on the floor and waited for him to return, but the scent of the food in the kitchen was far too enticing. He padded silently across the house and peeked through the entryway, Shiori was sitting there sipping some tea. 

"Don't be shy, there's plenty to eat," she said without opening her eyes. He blinked, wondering how she could have sensed him standing there, but then remembered what Kurama had referred to as 'mother's intuition'. 

He sat and began helping himself to food, remembering his table manners by now. Shiori sat her teacup down gently on the table and smiled as she watched him eat. 

"I'm very glad you've come to stay with us for vacation," she said. "Shuuichi is well liked at school but I worry he doesn't have many close friends. Actually, I sometimes feel there's a lot he doesn't tell me about himself." 

"If you only knew..." Hiei thought. 

"Do you still live with your family?" She asked. 

"No, I'm on my own," he said. He was true enough, he did not have much of a family to live with, of course. 

"What do your parents think of you living alone at such a young age?" She said, since as far as she knew, he was only a few years older than her teenage son. 

"They..." he stopped, and thought over what he was going to say. "Aren't around anymore," he finished. 

"Oh...." Her smiled faded and she was suddenly filled with much remorse. "I've been raising Shuuichi on my own since he was a baby, so he also knows the feeling of growing up without a parent." She took him by surprise then, by reaching her hand over and placing it on top of his own. "But I hope you have at least some family to go to." 

"I have a sister," he said, without thinking. Yukina was his only living relative, and it saddened him deeply to have to watch her always from afar. He did not express it openly, of course, but it was obvious to anyone who had spent time with him how much he truly cared for his sister. "I don't see her very often, unfortunately..." he added. 

"You should spend more time with her," Shiori said, patting him lightly on the hand and smiling once again. He looked at her kind face, and for some reason felt a strong liking for this woman. Perhaps it was because she gave off the aura of everything that was motherhood, and he had never had the benefit of knowing his own mother. Kurama loved her after all, and he in turn could not help but feel affection for Shiori. 

**** 

'Brotherly love, it's so beautiful...' 

'You mean motherly love, sir.' 

'No, I'm talking about Hiei's love for Yukina!' 

'But what about Shiori's love for Kurama?' 

'Forget that, what about Kurama's love for Hiei!?' 

'_That's_ a different thing entirely...' 

**** 


	8. Seven Days Cont'd

**::Note::**The idea for the blooming rose came from the Revolutionary Girl Utena movie =^_^= 

The song I was listening to when writing the dance scene was the theme to Final Fantasy X-2 'Real Emotion'. If you have it, listen to it during that part, because it is hard to write about music, something you have to hear and feel. 

Also, if the designs of their kimonos seem familiar, it's because I used the same colors and patterns featured in an official Yu Yu Hakusho group picture_._

__

_****_

__

_Day Three~~_

"So then the man goes, I know, I was talking to the duck!" Kyo said, finishing the punch line of the joke she had been telling, causing herself and Kurama to laugh wildly. Hiei did not laugh, obviously.... He had not been listening, concerning himself more with how Kurama had convinced him to spend a day doing the most feminine and possibly most pointless thing ever imagined, _shopping._ They were not even running errands or shopping for the week's food, that he could have lived with. No, the three of them were to spend the entire afternoon at the shopping mall, which was hopelessly crowded with people. Everywhere Hiei looked there were dozens of strangers. He felt extremely trapped. 

"Kurama, look at these shoes, you should get them for your mother!" Kyo said excitedly, dragging him by the hand over to the window of a designer accessory store. 

"What do you think of this scarf to go with them?" He asked, pointing. 

"Hm... I don't know, I think the blue one might actually look better on her." 

"Yes, but I'm not particularly fond of the sequins." 

"Wait, here's one without sequins, isn't the pattern beautiful?" 

"Oh, and what about--" 

"Is this REALLY your idea of fun!?" Hiei roared, making several shoppers stop in their tracks and give him an awkward stare. 

"Mother's gone far too long without a new pair of shoes," Kurama said simply. Kyo was blinking with surprise and was inching extremely close to Kurama, for Hiei still frightened her considerably. 

"Do you have to TALK about everything you buy so much?" He snarled, folding his arms across his chest and glaring. 

"Well how is one ever to develop a decent sense of fashion without discussing the matter first?" He said. He placed his hand on the Jaganshi's shoulder and grinned. "You could do with a new wardrobe yourself." 

"I don't care about clothes..." 

"Surely you must admit all black can be tiresome after a while?" 

"I said I don't care about clothes." 

"Then why wear any at all?" Kurama winked and took Kyo by the hand, leaving Hiei to stand in the middle of the tier feeling perplexed. He clenched his teeth and looked at the floor. Why did the object of his desires have to be such a hopeless flirt and tease? 

"Is he angry?" Kyo asked, looking cautiously back at the fire demon, who had begun following them again. 

"No, Hiei is just feeling irritable this morning. Much like every morning..." 

"He doesn't like people very much, does he?" She said, holding tightly onto Kurama's hand. She could almost feel Hiei's red eyes staring a hole in her back as they walked. 

"He keeps mostly to himself," Kurama said. "I'm actually a bit surprised he decided to come with us at all today." 

Kyo suddenly felt a bit more at ease and smiled. She stood on tiptoes and whispered into Kurama's ear. 

"It's because he loves you," she said so quietly that he could barely hear, and giggled. 

Later on came another tense moment. Kurama had entered the changing room of a high class clothing store to try on some new outfits for himself. Throughout his long life, he had always prided himself on being beautiful, and did not let a change of body keep him from looking as lovely as possible. It may seem vain to some, but it was not as if anyone could put up much of an argument, he _was _beautiful. 

This, of course, left Kyo and Hiei alone together. They stood a few feet apart, not speaking. Hiei was staring off into the corner with a sour expression on his face. Kyo kept her eyes on him the entire time though, afraid that if she looked away even for a second she may regret it. She also knew by now of Hiei's incredible speed, and was subconsciously worried that if she did so much as blink, he would be gone. 

She was not a timid girl, far from it, but being in the presence of someone as intimidating as Hiei was nerve-wracking. She tried the best she could to be as friendly as possible to whoever she met, and never judge someone based on appearance or lifestyle. But what could she say to a demon? She supposed one should not be in the habit of judging demons any more than they would humans. Kurama was not entirely human, and she never had any trouble talking to him. Maybe all she needed to do was get to know Hiei a bit better, but that is a task easier said than done.... 

"It's a nice day out today," she said, figuring he could find nothing offensive about the weather. 

"Hn..." So the weather was of no interest to him 

"Kurama told me all about how you rescued him, that was so brave of you." She rocked back and forth on her heels and waited. He appeared to be ignoring her now. 

"Um... It must be fun having a third eye," she said, noting his headband and remembering what Kurama had told her. 

"I don't think 'fun' was what I had in mind when I endured the excruciatingly long hours of red hot searing pain to get it..." he replied. 

She sighed, looking down at the floor and toying with the ends of her pigtails. 

"I wish there was something I could say to show how much I like you," she said. 

He turned slightly and glanced at her. 

"How could you like me? You don't even know me." 

"Well Kurama likes you, and he's told me so much about you, so..." she tried her best to smile at him. "So, I like you too." 

He turned away and went back to glaring into the corner. She furrowed her eyebrows and bit her lip with frustration. She knew he had the ability to be friendly in him somewhere. 

"I know you don't think very much of me, but I really admire you. The way you and Kurama are so close and the way you protect your sister," she was met with a low growl upon mentioning Yukina. 

"Oh, Kurama told me a little about her, too..." She confessed. 

"Kurama has a big mouth." 

"But I really do admire you!" She said quickly, trying to erase any mistake she had made. "Maybe we could even be friends someday, and you could teach me martial arts so we'd have something in common." 

"Why would you have me teach you?" He said, scoffing at the mere idea of it. 

"Well... Kurama would go way too easy on me, and Kuwabara wouldn't want to hurt me because I'm a girl. As for Yusuke, I don't think he'd take me seriously." 

"What makes to think _I'd_ take you seriously?" 

"Well, I don't know--" 

"Done!" Kurama announced, flinging the doors of the dressing room open with clothes draped over both arms. "I hope you two have been getting along well," he said cheerfully. 

"Aren't you going to try something on, Kyo?" He asked, placing the clothes he hadn't liked back on the racks. 

"I'm not sure I have enough money for a store like this..." She said, looking around at the high price tags. 

"Pick out something you like and I'll loan you any extra you need," he said. "Perhaps we can even get Hiei to try something on." He grinned sultrily down at the Jaganshi and was met with a sneer. 

"Don't count on it." 

_Day Four~~_

__

__"I think Hiei wants to kill me...." 

"Believe me, if Hiei wanted to kill you he would have done so long ago," Kurama said while tying Kyo's long hair into a tight French braid. 

"That's not very reassuring," she sighed. They both looked across the sand at Hiei, who had been perched on the same rock overlooking the ocean all day. The entire group, excluding Botan, who was very busy in Spirit world, had gone to the beach to spend a day in the surf before their short vacation from school came to an end. 

"Kyo! Come play volleyball with us!" Keiko called. "Yusuke thinks he and Kuwabara can win in girls verses boys." 

"Yeah, come and get pounded!" Yusuke invited, waving his arms and receiving a death stare from Keiko. 

"Coming!" she called. Kurama hurried to tie a ribbon in the bottom of her hair and she ran through the sand to the volleyball net they had set up. 

"This should be interesting," Kurama said to himself. He rose and walked gracefully along the shore, then climbed up onto the rock where Hiei was sitting. The sun was already going down and the entire ocean looked to be on fire. He sat beside his partner, who was staring out into the vast sea. 

"Care to watch Yusuke and Kuwabara make a mockery of all mankind?" He asked. 

"Not particularly," Hiei answered, not looking up. He sat with his knees to his chest, arms folded, and his head lowered down so that only his red eyes were showing. 

"You've been very quiet today," Kurama said, tucking his hair behind his ear, which was blowing in the gentle wind. 

"I'm not used to... this." 

"Having a good time, you mean?" 

Kurama moved closer and rested his head on Hiei's shoulder. He tensed up at the fox's touch, keeping his gaze focused on the horizon. 

"The sunset is very lovely this evening," Kurama commented. 

"I suppose." 

The redhead closed his eyes and breathed in the salty air, the faint scent of the demon beside him mixing in and adding to the enjoyment of it all. 

"Kyo is quite fond of you. You shouldn't be so cold to her," he said. 

"Why are you so drawn to that girl, anyway?" 

"She's a very understanding person." He wrapped both of his arms around one of Hiei's and latched on to him. "If you're worried about competition you needn't be jealous," he added. "My affections are for one alone." 

"As are mine..." Hiei thought, and wished he had the courage to say out loud. 

Once it had gotten too dark for sports and the moon and stars were their only source of light, the small group took to writing messages in the sand. Kuwabara had spent at least ten minutes writing a giant message reading 'I love Yukina' and was quite satisfied with it, until Yusuke pointed out that the tide would come in and wash it away forever within the hour. Keiko had written a small note to Yusuke, but scuffed it out with her feet quickly before anyone could lay their eyes on it. While Yusuke was busy writing 'Kuwabara is a doofus' in eight foot tall letters, Kyo had sat down away from the surf and was neatly writing her own words. 

"If you have any secrets written, you best bury them or I may be tempted to read," Kurama teased, walking over and kneeling down beside her. 

"Not a secret, exactly..." She said. He looked down and saw that any messages that had been there were scratched out, all but one. Written carefully and clearly in the middle of all the chaotic mounds of sand read the words, 'Kurama + Hiei'. He blushed slightly, reading over them several times. 

"Funny how it's so easy to see it written there, but so hard to say," he said. 

"Don't worry, he'll open up eventually," Kyo responded. 

"Hiei is no more guilty than I of hiding his feelings," he sighed. "If I had been completely honest with him from the start, this would have all been said long ago..." 

"I have a hunch that before summer is over this year, you two will be together," she said. 

He stood and shook his head. "I suppose greater miracles have happened." He walked off towards the more isolated end of the beach to clear his head, leaving Kyo sitting in the cold sand. She beamed down at the words before her, feeling a great warmth in her heart. 

"I wonder if I should tell him it wasn't me that wrote this..." she whispered. 

Up on the rocks above the beach, Hiei looked intently at the sand covered stone in his hand, sighed, and held it tightly against his chest before flinging it into the sea. 

_Day Five~~_

__

__"Rise and shine...." 

Hiei opened one eye sleepily and saw Kurama smiling down at him. He had opted to sleep inside the night before, and was sprawled out ungracefully in the youko's bed. 

"Go away..." He groaned, rolling over and covering his head with a pillow. For some reason, a few hours spent on the soft mattress made him never want to leave bed again. 

"It's past nine already, I was hoping to be gone by now," Kurama said, yanking the pillow off his head. Hiei snorted and glared up at him. 

"Gone where?" 

"I planned a trip to the arboretum today, I thought you may enjoy a calm place with not too many people," he said. He rolled Hiei out of bed and began returning the sheets to their proper spot and folding the quilts neatly. 

"A garden?" Hiei wiped the sleep from his eyes and yawned. "Anything is better than the mall..." 

"You may want to take a shower, you still smell of salt and sand," Kurama advised. They had both immediately collapsed into bed after returning from the beach the night before. 

"What about breakfast?" 

"Mother and I have already eaten," the redhead answered. He walked past Hiei and into the hall, where he opened the upstairs linen closet and pulled out a fresh towel. "I can find something for you while you're showering, if you like." 

"Hn," Hiei snatched the towel from Kurama's hand and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him. 

He removed his belt and let his clothes fall to the floor, then carefully removed the bandages from his arm that covered the mark of the black dragon. After setting his headband on the counter, he stepped into the shower and turned the water on until it was very hot. Shiori and Kurama shared the bathroom, and the small shelves in the shower stall were filled with bottles of every type. Different shampoos, conditioners, floral moisturizers, half a dozen types of soap, perfumes, some were human products and others were Kurama's own mixtures, containing herbal ingredients one can only imagine.__

__"No wonder he always smells so..." Hiei blinked. He very much liked the way Kurama smelled, but was not sure how to describe it. Like an earthy bed of flowers, only with several other accents mixed in that have no name but made the scent entirely beautiful and his own. 

After he had bathed, he walked downstairs to the kitchen, feeling completely starved. He stood at the foot of the stairs looking adorable in Kurama's red bathrobe, which was so many sizes too big for him it nearly touched the floor. 

"I love your new style," Kurama said when Hiei had walked into the room and sat down at the table. 

"Shut up, my clothes are dirty," he said, already filling his mouth with food. 

"Actually I have some new clothes laid out on my bed for you," Kurama told him, seating himself and beginning to re-wrap the tattoo on Hiei's arm with new dressings while he ate. "I bought them when we were out the other day, after you had run off to brood on the roof." 

"I wasn't brooding, I just hate that mall place. There are too many people." 

Kurama finished with the bandages, giving the Jaganshi back the use of his other arm. 

"I just hope they fit, I had to find the smallest men's size possible." 

"Is that an insult?" Hiei said, glaring and taking a drink of tea. 

"Of course not," Kurama said, smiling and flipping his hair playfully. He rested his chin on his hand. "I quite like you the way you are." 

__Hiei dressed in the clothes Kurama had bought for him after he'd finished with his breakfast. Tight, stone washed jeans, a navy blue tank top and pinstripe dress shirt over top fit him well enough but he was not entirely sure how much he liked them. He supposed Kurama knew best though, and did not care about his appearance enough to worry about it for more than a few seconds. 

They normally would have taken the bus, but Hiei insisted on walking. As a result, it took nearly an hour to get there, but avoiding having any public transport vehicles being set on fire was worth the walk. Kurama had visited the indoor gardens many times before, it was one of his favorite places to be in his human home. It was, of course, Hiei's first time there, but the natural beauty that surrounded him when they entered the doors was a pleasant surprise. Kurama had grabbed a hold of his hand, and though he did not care much what anyone's opinion was of him, he felt uneasy displaying affection where any stranger could see. But he did not pull away, or make any comment, he merely let the redhead hold his hand and paid attention to his explanations of every single plant and flower they passed. 

__"These are my favorites," Kurama said, as they approached the back end of the gardens. Before them was a gorgeous display of huge, full roses. All the flowers in the arboretum were painstakingly grown by professionals, but the roses were surely the most popular. Featured in magazines and winners of first place in hundreds of flower shows, the roses there were by far the best in the country. 

Hiei looked over the display, and even he could not deny how astounding it was. Kurama then leaned over a tiny bud in the midst of full blooms, and reached his hand towards it. The fire demon could feel his partner's spirit energy start to rise, and the rosebud began to slowly spin and open up. It displayed its petals and bloomed into the most deep and brilliant shade of red he had ever seen.Kurama plucked the newly blossomed flower from the rest of the plant, mindful of its thorns, and handed it to Hiei. 

"Isn't that stealing?" The Jaganshi mocked, accepting the rose. 

"Well, I was a thief most of my life, after all," Kurama said, smiling. Hiei spun the rose around carefully in his hand, looking over every inch of it. Kurama bent down very slowly, closed his green eyes, and placed a tiny kiss on Hiei's cheek, making him blush furiously. Their grip on each others hands tightened, and as Hiei admired his rose, he was sure it was the most beautiful of them all. 

__

_Day Six~~_

__

__"I'm home!" Kurama announced, stepping through the front door and removing his shoes. His hands were full of shopping bags, and when he entered the living room, he was greeted with the delightfully domestic sight of Hiei and Shiori watching television. 

"Welcome back, Shuuichi," she said. Hiei said nothing, his eyes were still focused on the TV screen. 

"Would you be able to pull yourself away long enough to come to my room with me?" He asked Hiei. 

The Jaganshi blinked and looked at him, then got up from the couch. They walked up the stairs to Kurama's bedroom and he sat down on the bed, while the redhead began removing things from his shopping bags. 

"How are you enjoying television so far?" Kurama asked. 

"It's confusing..." 

"How so?" 

"Tell me," he said. "What exactly is a 'soap opera'?"__

__Kurama laughed and shook his head. 

"I think I'll explain that to you another day," he said. He pulled a box from one of the bags and set it on the bed before Hiei. 

"I have something for you," he told him, sitting and waiting for him to open his gift. 

Hiei pulled the top off the box and looked at the contents, it was more clothing. 

"What is this for?" 

"It's a suit," Kurama said. "I got you a tie to go with it as well, though I doubt you'll agree to wear it." 

"What is it _for?_" He repeated, pulling the black jacket from the box and examining it. 

"It's for you to wear tonight." 

"Why would I wear something like this?" He asked. 

"Tonight we are going dancing," Kurama announced happily. Hiei dropped the jacket and glared at him. 

"I do not dance," he said firmly. 

"Of course you do," Kurama said, taking the jacket and folding it neatly back into its box. "Dancing is just like fighting, only much more slow and sensitive." 

"How are the two anything alike?" He said, still glaring distastefully at the redhead. 

"You step to the music instead of the pounding of your own heart. You follow your partner's movements with the same grace and precision as any fighter would in battle." 

Hiei's glare softened, what Kurama was saying actually made more sense than he would have thought. 

"Whenever I fight at your side it's like a dance, moving as one and playing off whatever you do. When we dance, all we must do is follow each others movements as we would in any battle, but tonight there will be no danger." 

Hiei picked up the jacket of the suit again and stared at it with no hatred this time. He suddenly was looking forward to dancing with Kurama, just as he loved the thrill of battling alongside him. They anticipated each others moves exactly, and fought so flawlessly as a duo that watching them attack together was like a violent ballet.__

__"You're right, I'm not wearing the tie," he said.__

__That evening they sat in the establishment Kurama had chosen that featured fine dining and dancing. There were other couples and groups of people everywhere, but Kurama had specifically requested a table in the most remote corner of the dining area, so Hiei would feel more isolated and comfortable. He looked very cute in his new suit, but of course had not worn the matching tie. They were both dressed in black, and Kurama had on a black turtleneck on under his blazer insteadof a dress shirt. His hair was tied back with a green ribbon to match his eyes, and he now watched Hiei as he munched on one breadstick after another. 

__The music was soft and slow, perfect for a romantic dance. They had not hit the floor yet, Kurama was waiting until after the fire demon was satisfied with a full stomach. When their meals arrived, the waiter placed down glasses of champagne that had come with the orders. Hiei picked up his glass and sniffed the contents suspiciously. 

"What is it?" He asked. 

"You won't like it," Kurama answered. Ignoring the warning, he took a sip and Kurama laughed when he immediately spit it back into his glass. 

"Disgusting..." he mumbled. 

__Luckily the food was more appealing than the champagne, and Hiei had finished almost his entire plate before Kurama had even eaten half.__

__"You're going to get fat the way you've been eating this week," the redhead noted. 

"I doubt it."__

__When they had finished eating, Kurama noticed a song start to play that would be very simple to dance to and stood from his seat. 

"May I have this dance?" he asked, holding out his hand to Hiei. The Jaganshi rolled his eyes but accepted the offer, taking Kurama's hand and walking with him to the floor. 

"I'll lead for now," he said, placing Hiei's hands in the proper places and stepping close to him. He watched Kurama's feet for a moment until he had picked up the pattern of his steps and was able to follow along without trouble. 

"I told you it would be easy," Kurama said, moving closer than before. They pressed together and Kurama rested his chin on the top of Hiei's head while they danced. Hiei sighed, he could hear the fox's heartbeat, his hand was on his hip, and he wanted to say something to him, but he could not find any words. He felt Kurama gently squeeze his shoulder. 

"There's no need to be so tense, you're doing splendidly," he said. 

"That's not the reason..." 

Kurama stepped back to look into his face. He wished the fire demon would not constantly trouble himself with matters that should be no trouble at all. 

"What then?" 

Hiei opened his mouth to say something to change the subject, but he was saved the trouble when the change of music caught Kurama's attention. The beat had quickened considerably, and he grinned down at his partner. 

"Care for a bit more of a challenge?" he asked. 

Hiei, of course, was the type who could never resist a good challenge, and he smiled back and nodded. The song was fast paced with pounding rhythm, the kind of song that real dance was all about. They joined hands, Hiei taking the lead this time, and began to step in sync with the music. Their perfect anticipation of each other made it looked like the dance was rehearsed, and they were soon spinning across the floor together, other people moving back to watch. Hiei's hand was low on the youko's hip, gripping him tightly while they moved to the resounding bass. The music had totally absorbed them by now, Kurama was grinning down at the Jaganshi, who was suddenly in such a good mood, he smiled deviously and licked his fangs. They stepped away, hands locked, then tipped back forward. Kurama flipped his hair and leaned back, Hiei's other hand on the small of his back, holding him up. Back and forth, they were close again, face to face, Kurama placed his hand on Hiei's cheek and was infinitesimally close to touching lips with him, until they swung apart again. Then, at the climax of the instrumental rift, Hiei dipped Kurama so low his hair brushed against the floor. 

When the song stopped, Kurama was glowing with happiness and took Hiei in his arms to hug him. Then they noticed that there was no one else on the dance floor, everyone had stepped back to watch their performance. People clapped and nodded their approval, making Hiei so embarrassed he wanted to shrink into nothingness. Kurama was overjoyed though, simply by the fact that Hiei had not attacked every living thing in attendance and took the unwanted attention in stride. 

After paying for their meal, they exited the restaurant into the night to walk home by the light of the starts and street lamps. Kurama had taken to holding Hiei's hand regularly now, and he had all but forgotten the urge to pull away. But why did humans hold hands anyway? It seemed such a pointless custom, but Hiei had to admit he enjoyed the fox's gentle touch. 

"I get the sneaking suspicion you enjoyed yourself tonight, Hiei." He said pleasantly. 

The Jaganshi smiled slightly and looked down at the sidewalk ahead of him. He had enjoyed it, more than he ever would have expected. Could it be he was actually coming to tolerate this world infested with humans? Of course, the only reason he had seen the good was because Kurama was here, this was his home. Hiei thought then that he could quite possibly spend the rest of his life here, as long as the Youko was by his side. 

_Day Seven~~_

__They had both slept in Kurama's bed again that night, Hiei not even making an attempt to leave his side. The air had been chilly despite it being summer, and they lay curled up together until the quilts. Both awoke rather early for whatever reason, Kurama was blinking at the Jaganshi beside him when he started to stir. 

"Nn..." Hiei yawned and opened his eyes groggily. The first thing that could be seen was Kurama's green eyes staring back at him. He fluffed his black hair out of his face and rolled onto his back. He could see the sun had not even risen through the window above the bed. 

"What time is it?" he groaned. 

"I'm not sure, I haven't gotten out of bed yet, as you can see." Kurama replied. 

Hiei rolled back onto his side to face him, blinking away fragments of dreams and trying to return to an awakened state. 

"Doesn't Shiori mind you sleeping in the same bed as a man?" he said, knowing humans were very intolerant when it came to other people's relationships. "You're a child in her mind, after all."__

__"Mother doesn't intrude into my private life very often, I doubt she even knows." He reached out and ran his fingers over the white star burst in Hiei's hair. "She trusts that I have good enough judgment to keep myself out of trouble." 

"You're the perfect son, aren't you?" 

"I owe her my life," Kurama said. "I try to show her as much respect and love as a possibly can." 

"I like her." Hiei admitted. 

"Why Hiei, who would have ever thought you'd befriend and simple human woman," the Youko laughed, shifting closer to the little demon and resting his head on the same pillow.__

__"What are your plans for us today?" Hiei asked, taking a few strands of long red hair into his hands and twirling them around. In just that one short week, he had grown increasingly comfortable around Kurama, and almost felt like he had lived in this human house with the boy and his mother forever. 

"I take it you haven't been paying much attention to Yusuke and the others recently," Kurama said. "Tonight is the summer festival, we've all been planning to go together." 

"Will it be crowded?" he said apprehensively. 

"Most likely, but I'm certain everyone there will be too concerned with their own amusement to bother you," Kurama assured, although no one had actually bothered Hiei before, he seemed to have an odd fear that some human stranger would walk up and confront him with their stupidity.__

__"I have another gift for you, by the way," he said, sitting up and stepping out from under the covers. He leaned down, reaching under his bed, and Hiei was extremely tempted to reach out and grab his rear end, wishing there was still a tail to hold on to.When he sat back up, he placed another clothing box in front of Hiei, but it was carefully wrapped this time in magenta colored paper and ribbons. 

"This one is a bit more special than the other outfits," he said as Hiei started tearing the paper off. He lifted the lid, and inside was a beautiful blue men's kimono. 

"It's for tonight, I knew you wouldn't have anything traditional to wear so..." 

Hiei held it up and then ran his hands over the silky material. There was an emblem of a dragon on the sash, and it seemed to be custom made in just his size. 

"It like it..." he said softly, still admiring the kimono. 

"I thought it was perfect, but it will look much better once it's on you, of course...." 

The fire demon blushed and laid the robe back into the box. It seemed that something he normally would have not cared a bit about had made him very happy that morning. Kurama was so thoughtful when it came to his needs, he wished desperately that he could return the favor by giving the fox all the love he deserved. It was just so difficult to show that kind of deep emotion, all the things he was feeling inside, fighting to get out and be said, would not come. The words never seemed right, the moment never seemed good enough.He wanted to break down and hold Kurama in his arms as if it were their last moments together, tell the world that he loved him and never let him go. All he could manage though were small smiles and half caring remarks. He had gone so long keeping his feelings inside, centuries of loneliness with no one to care for. It had been so long, in fact, he worried he was simply not able to let out everything he felt. 

"Mother usually sleeps in on Saturday," Kurama said. "We can stay in bed for a while if you like." 

Anything to stay in bed with the lovely fox was fine in Hiei's opinion. He did not know why he had been so afraid before to lie next to him. He laid his head back down on the pillow and Kurama placed the box containing the kimono on the floor. He slid up next to the Jaganshi and smiled at him. Hiei had removed the wrappings on his arm before bed, and Kurama traced over the marking of the black dragon with his fingertips. Hiei shivered, the touch was sending chills all over his body. Though his own hands were rough and calloused from wielding his sword, Kurama's somehow remained perfectly soft. 

"I knew this week would be good for you," Kurama said. He dragged his fingers all the way up Hiei's arm to his shoulder, and then to his chest. "You've opened up considerably, I'm proud of you..." 

All of his wit had vanished, Kurama had the amazing ability to make him melt into a pathetic nothing with a simple touch or glance. It made him angry, actually, he wanted to be the one in control, to overtake him and seduce him. The only time he had managed that was the night they had spent together, Kurama had completely given himself over that night. Hiei began to run through those events in his mind, but he became so overwhelmed he had to sit up and escape the youko's sensual stare. 

Kurama sighed and stayed where he was as Hiei exited the room. 

"Too much at once, I suppose..." he thought. 

That evening, when the sun had gone down, the Urameshi team and acquaintances had all gathered at the summer festival. Kuwabara was still attempting to catch a goldfish, but after seventeen tries he had still had no luck, and Yusuke mocked him by holding up the full bag of four goldfish he had won for Keiko. Kurama had offered to catch one for Hiei, but when informed by the Jaganshi that fish were for eating, he had opted to give the little creature to Kyo instead. 

Hiei looked simply perfect in his new kimono in Kurama's opinion. He himself had his hair tied back and was wearing a very expensive kimono Shiori had gotten him the year before, which was black and grey with leaf prints. Kuwabara was dressed in light blue, Yusuke had white with a blue checkered pattern, Keiko had worn orange and Kyo green. 

"Kurama look at the dancers, they're so pretty," Kyo said, pointing to the female dancers in their fantastic costumes, performing on a stage surrounded by lanterns. 

"They're very lovely," he agreed, as the six of them stood to watch, although Hiei wasn't paying much attention and Kuwabara was still complaining about his fish. 

"I like that one," Kyo said, pointing to one of the dancers. "She's the best out of all of them, don't you think?" 

"I'm particularly fond of the one with the roses in her hair, actually," he replied, of course he was bias. 

"Look at the boobs on that girl," Yusuke remarked, and was quickly slapped by Keiko, almost making him drop his bag of fish. 

"Man, I'm really hungry...." Kuwabara moaned when his stomach growled loudly. 

"We have five goldfish to divide between us," Hiei said, and Kyo tucked her bag protectively into her sleeve. 

"Shall we go find something to eat then?" Kurama said. They walked through the festival, past booths and vendors. It took longer than it should have to find food, because Kuwabara insisted on picking out a gift for Yukina at every single stall. They eventually found someplace selling hot food, and all sat down underneath a large tree in the grass to eat. 

"They're going to be setting off the fireworks soon," Keiko said, looking at the watch she had brought in her pocket. 

"I've heard it's gonna be really good this year," Yusuke said, burping and leaning back against the tree. 

"I wish Yukina was here to watch them with me..." Kuwabara sighed. "Do you think she likes fireworks?" 

Kurama leaned to the side and rested his head on Hiei's shoulder. Kyo grinned at the sight, not thinking Hiei would allow his feelings to show even the tiniest bit. Instead of bolting for a tree, though, he just looked tenderly at Kurama, and a small hint of a smile could be seen on his lips. 

Kuwabara crawled behind the two, who were blissfully unaware of anything but each other at the moment. 

"Urameshi," he whispered. "Are they, like... you know?" 

"Define 'you know'" Yusuke said, glaring slightly at Kuwabara. 

"You know as in... yeah." 

"Sadly I think I actually know what you're getting at," Yusuke groaned at Kuwabara's vagueness. "And I dunno, but it sure seems like it." 

He leaned to his right and whispered in Keiko's ear. 

"Kuwabara wants to know if Kurama and Hiei are... you know." he said, finding himself doing the exact same thing Kuwabara had done a few seconds ago. 

"Are what?" she said, looking at him, puzzled. 

"You know..." he groaned. "Are they like... together?" 

"Why are you asking me?" she said. "Why don't you just ask _them_, they're right there." 

"Do you really want to ask Hiei something like that?" he said. His statement was fairly self explanatory. 

"I see your point," she said, looking over at the redhead leaning on the fire demon. Keiko leaned forward and tapped Kyo on the shoulder. 

"Psst, Kyo." 

The pigtailed girl turned around to face Keiko, who whispered to her softly. 

"Are Hiei and Kurama... you know?" 

"Yes!" Kyo giggled quietly, apparently the meaning of Keiko's question was quite clear to her, and she was so happy her close friend and his little Jaganshi were finally becoming, well, you know! 

**** 

'You haven't said anything in a while, sir.' 

'I'm just trying to figure out what "You know" means.' 

'Ugh...' 

**** 


	9. Last Rose

"Today is the day, boys, although I wish I could say it was not," Botan said the next day. The group of four that made up the team of Spirit Detectives sat in Yusuke's bedroom the next day, waiting for instructions from Botan. After tireless work by the staff in spirit word, calling in a few favors and breaking a few rules, they had dug up enough information on Calypso to launch an all out attack. 

"The base has been discovered, and just as we suspected, it's right here in the human world. It's only about an hour's run from here, right under our noses the whole time..." 

"Figures," Yusuke groaned. 

"Well, anyway, we've made up this map for you to follow," she said, handing it to Yusuke for them to look over. "It's concealed very well in an underground chasm, and I'm advising you strongly not to try and get in through the main entrance, it would nearly surely be suicide. Instead, we've discovered another way in, but since it's located in the middle of the swamp, I'm afraid you're going to have to get a bit dirty." 

"Who cares about dirt!" Kuwabara said. "What do we have to do?" 

"The spy we sent two days ago almost got himself killed to find it out, but there's a weakness in the north wall where a large rock formation juts into it. You'll need to break through the outside walls, which will hopefully flood the lower levels of the complex and make your job a lot easier." 

Botan pulled some papers out of a folder she had brought with her and looked them over before continuing. 

"Unfortunately we've found almost no information about the mastermind behind this operation, so I can't give you a name. Rumors have it though, that he and his top level assistants are almost indistinguishable from humans." 

Kurama then recalled the man that had spoken to him in his prison cell when he had been captured. 

"I've seen him..." he said. 

"Did you get a good look at him?" Botan asked. 

"Trust me, it is a face I'll never forget," he said, recalling the haunting white eyes that stared down at him while he lied broken and bleeding on the cold cell floor. 

"Kurama is the one who will know who you're looking for then," she said. "Your mission is to cause as much damage as possible, kill or capture the ringleader and any others in a position of authority, and most of all... please make it out alive." 

"Well that sounds simple enough," Yusuke said confidently. "Run in, wreak havoc and bail, right up my alley!" 

"Yusuke, this is very dangerous," Botan urged. "We're not exactly sure what you'll be facing when you get there, our knowledge is still limited." 

"Don't worry, I'll be there to get Urameshi out of any jams he lands in." Kuwabara said. 

"Yeah, but who'll be there to save _your_ ass?" Yusuke teased, grinning deviously at his friend. 

Kurama and Hiei had both remained silent during their briefing, calculating everything in their minds. 

"I am not looking forward to going back to any place where those cold eyes are," Kurama said. The helplessness and pain he had suffered last time had been almost unbearable. He feared that he would end up in a similar situation, completely unable to defend himself. At least, this time, he knew what to expect. 

Hiei stared at the redhead and then looked angrily down into his lap. He could not erase the vision of Kurama lying bound and covered in his own blood on the floor of the prison cell, his proud demeanor torn to shreds and left meaning less than nothing to his captors. On top of it all though, was the guilt of knowing it had been his fault. Kurama was merely bait, it had all been to lead him there and make him their slave. He clenched his fists until they shook, swearing he would never let anyone hurt his Youko again, and the only thing on his mind as they left that morning was revenge. 

When they reached the designated location, there were no visible signs of any base, only the huge swamp Botan had mentioned. The foursome moved with stealth and speed, lurking in shadows, hiding their spirit energy as much as possible. Yusuke and Kuwabara's playful foolishness had been replaced with complete seriousness, there was no room for mistakes. They searched the terrain carefully until the marker designating the main entrance was finally spotted. 

"Ok, Botan's instructions said the weak spot in the wall in due north and twelve meters east of the front door," Yusuke whispered. 

"Who's gonna dive down and find it?" Kuwabara said. 

"I will," Hiei announced, standing. "I don't care if we're a team or not, this is my fight..." 

"Hiei, don't start getting all noble right now, we're going in together and leaving together, got it?" Yusuke said. 

The Jaganshi glared at him before removing his tunic and leaving his katana safely with Kurama. He sped through the tall grass and tangled weeds until he was sure he was in the right position. Taking a deep breath, he dove down into the thick, murky water. Unable to see, he used his Jagan to guide him until he was able to find the underwater rock formation and sense the flaw in the wall. 

Above the water, the other three boys waited patiently for something to happen. 

"He's been under there for like, two minutes..." Kuwabara said, sounding worried. "You don't think he drowned, do you?" 

"He's fine," Yusuke said. 

"Yusuke is correct," Kurama added. "We would have sensed it if he had died." He was very thankful that they had sensed no such thing. 

Suddenly, the water at the top of the swamp began to bubble and then the surface broke out into a violent whirlpool. A soaked, muddy Hiei sprung quickly up from the swamp and landed in a tree branch looming over his companions. The water level slowly fell, being sucked down below. 

"You did it!" Yusuke yelled, getting to his feet. 

"Water is pouring into the lowest chambers, half the demons inside will be dead before we even get there," Hiei said with much satisfaction. He dropped from the tree and placed his katana back in its hilt. 

They waited until the water level had stopped falling, and when they looked down into the half empty swamp, the hole Hiei had blasted in the wall was visible. The base itself was a huge pyramid, the point sticking of ominously above the top of the water. They leapt down into the water and swam inside. In the hall of the flooded chamber, the water was up to their knees (Hiei's waist) and there was commotion in every direction. A group of demon guards ran towards them, and the four boys attacked swiftly, killing most instantly, and Yusuke grabbed the last remaining, pressing him up roughly against the hard wall. 

"Ok, tell us where the hell your boss is and just maybe I'll let you live," he commanded. 

The demon, lowly scum who cared about nothing but furthering his own life, betrayed his commander without hesitation with faced with the fury in Yusuke's eyes. 

"Top level!" he shouted, "At the tip of the pyramid!" 

"Thanks," Yusuke said, punching the demon out and dropping him in the water, leaving him to drown. 

"An underwater pyramid is kinda weird if you ask me," Kuwabara said as they ran off. 

"But all we've gotta do is head straight up," Yusuke said. The hurried until they reached an intersection at the center of the half flooded floor. 

"Separate and fight your way up," Yusuke instructed. "We'll meet again at the top." 

The other three nodded and they all headed in different directions, their main objective to kill everything in sight until they reached the uppermost level. Although at least a third of the occupants had been drowned, the base was still heavily patrolled. As they made their way up, each boy had to avoid paralyzing darts and rapid machine gun fire, while working their way through the maze of rooms and hallways. Five floors up from the one they had started on, Kurama suddenly heard an explosion around the corner to his right. He sprinted around the bend to find Hiei looking dazed, getting up from the floor, fire blazing in his immediate vicinity. The Jaganshi was coughing heavily and having difficulty seeing through the thick smoke. Kurama took a starting step and leapt directly through, snatching Hiei around the waist with his rose whip on the way by. 

"Fancy meeting you here," he said when they had cleared the flames and ran around the next corner. 

"You didn't really need to do that," Hiei said. 

"How did you end up lighting yourself on fire, anyway? Or was it merely for fun?" Kurama joked, cocking his head to the side. 

"I fired an energy blast at a group of guards that happened to be standing at the door of a roomful of flammable chemicals," he said, dusting soot from his already dirty tunic. 

"Shall we go the rest of the way together, then?" Kurama suggested. 

"We're nearly at the top, anyway," he said. 

"Judging by the decreasing area of each floor and the angle of the walls I'd say you're right," the redhead said. "About three floors left?" he calculated. 

"Hn, let's go." Hiei unsheathed his sword and then ran ahead, going up as soon as they found the next stair case. 

They found more opposition on each floor, the guards were faster, stronger, trained to protect the top level at any cost. When Hiei and Kurama finally reached the tip of the pyramid, they found Yusuke and Kuwabara had just arrived ahead of them. Before the four was a huge door which Kuwabara was pounding on, trying to break it down but not succeeding. 

"I can't make this thing budge!" he yelled. "There's some kind of energy field around it." 

"If one can't bust it open maybe four can," Yusuke said, clenching his fist. "All together then!" 

The four allies stood side by side, focusing their strongest attacks on the center of the door. The force field protecting it started to fluctuate, and the heavy metal buckled, flying suddenly open. Inside was an eerie calm, everything was dark. They stepped inside cautiously, trying to gain a sense of what was around them. A light suddenly flashed on in the center of the room, and there stood a lonely figure. A middle aged man, dressed in a dark suit and sunglasses smiled at them. He looked so confident, and almost seemed happy that they had finally arrived. He slowly removed the sunglasses, revealing the dead, white eyes underneath. 

"That's gotta be him..." Yusuke said under his breath. They all tensed, waiting for some kind of attack, but none came. 

"So, you're here at last," he said, a falsely kind smile on his face. 

"What do you mean at last!?" Kuwabara shouted. 

"Give it up, whoever you are, all your demons are dead. Your stupid organization is over," Yusuke said at the top of his voice towards the figure. 

He laughed, long and deep. 

"I'm afraid not," he said. "I only wanted to add Hiei to my collection, you know. You others are just in the way." He took a few steps towards them, further into the light so they could see his eerie face. "Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei, what a splendid team you four make. Tsumetai was merely a test, of course, I wanted to see which of you would be the most use to me, and Hiei was the perfect choice. The blind rage he displayed during the battle on the mountain top was just what I was looking for." 

"Who the hell are you!?" Yusuke demanded. "And how do you know so much about us!?" 

"I have my ways..." he chuckled. Another figure then appeared from the dark, an aging face with a gaping eye socket was revealed. The four boys were shocked by what they saw before them. 

"The old man from the cabin..." Kurama gasped. 

"But I thought you were on our side!" Kuwabara exclaimed. 

The decrepit figure smile, showing a toothless grin. 

"Any loyalty can be changed," the old traitor said, "for the right price..." 

Hiei stepped ahead of his three companions, his sword drawn, facing directly towards the suited figure's throat. 

"Why did you pick me, anyway?" He growled. 

"Because," the man said, smiling. "I like you, Hiei. I like the way you think, and it was just so easy to lure you to me." He stared down, his white eyes fixed on the demon before him. His voice changed then, to a whisper, it was so soft and calm that it sounded nearly seductive. "Did it break your spirit to see your precious Youko lying pathetically in my jail cell like that? To see him have to beg for help... unable to even move?" 

The fire demon's teeth clenched, he bared his fangs. The figure disgusted him, the only thought forming in his mind was to kill. 

"It hurt you, didn't it...? It hurt so badly to see everything you loved and admired about him stripped away like that, didn't it, little demon?" 

Kurama's mouth was agape, he wanted to step forward and do something to stop this, but he was glued to the spot. The three of them watched at Hiei's rage increased. Every inch of his body was shaking with anger. Yusuke and Kuwabara were terrified to even approach him. 

Hiei breathed deeply, never had he felt such passionate fury. How dare he talk about Kurama about that, how dare he make his Kurama seem so worthless.... 

"I'm afraid it was not meant to be, though," the dark man said, breaking the silence. 

"As we speak," he said ominously, "the entire base is filling with toxic fumes to crush your lungs and consume all of you. So sorry, really. I, of course, am immune, so when this is all over I can just start from scratch, without any pesky spirit detectives to get in my way." 

Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama looked down, startled, to see a thick yellow smoke rising up around their ankles. Suddenly, a huge set of metal doors began to close in front of the entrance they had blasted down. The doors moved together slowly, getting ready to seal and trap them. 

"If we stay here to kill this guy now we're toast," Yusuke said. 

They turned and started making their way towards the door to escape the empty base as quickly as possible before the fumes could overtake them. Just as Kurama was about to step though the door, though, he saw that Hiei was still standing resolute in the same position, staring up at the tall figure. 

He went back and placed his hand on Hiei's shoulder. 

"Please, we must leave, the doors are closing," he pleaded. 

"Kurama, Hiei, come on!" Yusuke shouted. "The smoke is rising!" 

"Hiei!" he tugged on his arm forcefully but the Jaganshi would not budge. The doors were glowing closer and closer together, there were only seconds left to escape. 

"Kurama! Just pick him up and drag him!" Yusuke shouted. 

Kurama went to wrap his arms around the demon's waist, but was shrugged off and knocked to the floor. Hiei's eyes were burning with hatred. He moved directly forward, ready to attack. 

"Hiei!" Kurama got to his feet and grabbed at him again. "There's no time, we have to go!" He tried to pull Hiei up over his shoulder, but he would not be taken. 

"Kurama, get out of there!" Yusuke said. He and Kuwabara rushed through the doors back into the dark room, only a few feet of space left. The toxins were rising rapidly, up past their knees by now and flooding out into the hallway. 

Hiei still walked towards the figure in the center of the light. Yusuke and Kuwabara grabbed the frantic Kurama by the arms and began pulling him for the door. 

"Stop, let me go!" Kurama yelled, trying to knock them off and get back to his Jaganshi. 

"He's not budging, Kurama, we've gotta get out of here!" Yusuke demanded. They dragged a struggling Youko to the door, leaving Hiei standing ready for the kill. 

"No! You can't leave him here!" Kurama screamed. "Hiei! HIEI!" 

"Master," the one eyed old man said in his raspy voice. "There is a way out, right?" 

"I'm afraid you go down with the ship..." he replied. "You've been a loyal servant though." 

"HIEI! GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!" Yusuke screamed, Kurama still struggling with all his might to get back through the door. 

"Come on, shrimp, you're not gonna make it!" Kuwabara shouted. 

"YOU CAN'T LEAVE HIM, LET ME GO!" It was all they could do to pull Kurama from the door. 

"You..." Hiei finally spoke. All was quiet. Kurama stared in complete anguish through the mere inches left between the two doors. 

The tip of his blade was against the figure's chest. His fury had not faded, he trembled with the strongest emotion he had felt in his life. 

"You have hurt my lover..." he hissed. "The one most dear to me... The pain you caused him is unforgivable... AND I WILL NOT LET YOU LIVE!" 

Hiei leaping up and slashing his katana was the last thing Kurama saw as the doors slammed shut, sealing them out. 

"HIEI!" he screamed, breaking from Yusuke and Kuwabara's grasp and pounding at the doors. He gone completely out of his mind, he slammed against the thick metal with all his strength, doing anything he could to get back in. 

"KURAMA!" Yusuke yelled at the top of his lungs. "We've got to leave right now or all of us are going to die!" 

The yellow fumes were up past their waists, and Yusuke feared they would not be able to reach the exit in time. Kurama had to be completely dragged away, his green eyes overflowing with tears. He injured both Yusuke and Kuwabara quite badly trying to escape, but they did not let go. They ran as fast as possible down the pyramid. The smoke started to fill their lungs the lower they went. Coughing, feeling faint, they finally reached the exit and hauled Kurama through the water to the edge of the swamp to safety. 

The fox went limp in their arms when they had reached land. He stared blankly down into the swamp, unable to process what he had just seen. 

"Urameshi..." Kuwabara said. "Is he really...?" 

Yusuke bit his lip and had to hold back a tear leaking from his eye. 

"I don't know..." 

They waited for excruciatingly long minutes at the edge of the swamp. Kurama had broken down into violent sobs. Yusuke and Kuwabara watched and listened, trying desperately to feel any sign of Hiei's spirit energy. 

"I don't sense anything..." Kuwabara said softly. Though the demon had never been very fond of the auburn haired boy, the thought of his team mate lying dead was devastating. 

"I can't believe this..." Yusuke whispered, straining every ounce of his being to reach out and find the tiniest glimmer of Hiei's spirit still alive. "This can't be happening!" he yelled, his voice echoing off the bare sides of the pyramid. 

Kurama suddenly bolted up, his tear filled eyes opened wide. 

"He's there... I can feel him!" 

Yusuke placed his hand sadly on Kurama's shoulder. 

"Kurama, there's nothing..." 

The redhead turned and stared back at Yusuke. 

"You have never felt the closeness to him that I do... he is alive." 

Kurama bolted away towards the other side of the swamp, the two boys following quickly after him. He reached out with his mind, trying to pinpoint Hiei's location, and then, rounding a clump of gnarled trees, he saw a small body lying at the edge of the swamp. 

He swooped down and took the Jaganshi in his arms. He was barely breathing, choking each time he tried to inhale. 

"Stay calm," he whispered. "Breathe slowly..." Kurama held Hiei tightly against his body, using all the power he had him to heal and bring life's breath back to his precious fire demon. Yusuke and Kuwabara stood over them, watching, praying their partner would be able to hang on to life. Hiei began to cough fiercely, his body trying to expel the toxins from his lungs. After a few minutes of wheezing and ragged breaths, he was finally able to get the air he needed. 

"It's over..." he said, his voice still raspy from the irritation. "Calypso is dead... nothing but a lifeless pile of body parts. 

"Hiei..." Kurama wept, holding the demon's head against his heart. He did not ask why he had done such a foolish thing, for it would be a pointless question. Hiei only did what he thought he had to, and if he felt avenging Kurama was something he had to do, there was no convincing him otherwise. 

Though he had nearly lost is life, the internal battle that had been raging inside him had finally come to an end. Kurama had captured his heart for all eternity, and he would never leave his side again, making sure he lived each day proving his love to the Youko he adored. 

**** 

As it turned out, Hiei had managed to break through the doors that had sealed his would-be tomb and escape out the main entrance of the pyramid. It was truly a miracle that he had survived, any lesser demon would have surely perished. 

Only one problem still faced him. His love was pure, it was burning him up inside, but he still had to find a way to tell that to Kurama. He needed it to be official, that they would be one for all eternity. He struggled with it for weeks, trying to simply go up to the fox and say the simple words that were constantly on the tip of his tongue. Each time, though, he lost his nerve, and left without making his final confession. 

Kurama knew that Hiei would never be happy as the submissive partner in their relationship, and did not want to try and control him anyway. He had taught him all that he could, the fox wanted him to be the aggressor, Hiei just had to find a way to show him he was actually able to make a first move. 

Then one day, he decided he only had one option left. He needed help. 

In her bedroom, Kyo had just returned home from school, and was pulling her uniform off to change into some more comfortable clothes for the rest of the day. In only her underwear, she walked towards the dresser to find and outfit. Just as she was opening the drawer through, she looked up and let out a scream, finding the dark haired demon perched in her open window. She tore the blankets from her bed to cover herself. 

"What are you doing here!?" she cried. 

He stepped gracefully into the room, apparently unaware that he had done anything offensive. 

"I need your help," he said, embarrassed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. 

Kyo forgot the fact that she was close to naked and sat down beside him. He had really come to her, after all the pushing away he had done? 

"What's the matter?" she asked, although she was sure it had to do with Kurama. 

"I can't do it..." he said softly. "I can't find a way to tell him... To tell him..." 

"To tell him you love him?" she finished. Hiei nodded, almost unable to believe what he had resorted to. He was actually going to this human girl for help confessing his love. But then, Kyo remembered what she had told Kurama weeks before. 

"A rose, you need to give Kurama a rose." 

Hiei looked up at her, staring with his crimson eyes. He thought back to the rose Kurama had given him in the arboretum and how happy something like a simple flower had made him. And most of all, Kurama adored roses above all other plants. 

He nodded, sprung up to the windowsill and glanced back at her. 

"Thank you." 

He was gone in a flash, and Kyo called out the window after him. 

"Wait, Hiei! You're going to need money!" she yelled. She waited for an answer, but the Jaganshi was already long gone. 

"Great..." she sighed. "He doesn't know that there are no wild roses in bloom anymore, summer is over..." 

Late that night, the moon was full, and Hiei waited in the shadows, his eyes glowing brightly. He sat under a huge tree in a heavily wooded area, away from all humans, all disturbances, tonight was finally the end of his hiding. 

"Why have you asked me here in the middle of the night?" he heard Kurama's voice say from the shadows. He stepped into the small clearing and the moonlight made him visible standing there on the forest floor. Hiei stood, stepping towards him and looking up at Kurama's half lit face. He was completely and utterly beautiful. 

"I have a gift for you this time," he said. He reached for the stem he had tucked into his belt, and held up one, perfect, white rose. Kurama gazed at the blossom, astounded. 

"Hiei... where did you get this?" he asked, knowing that all the rose bushes had fallen bare for the beginning of autumn already. 

"It's a secret," the Jaganshi grinned, sliding the rose into Kurama's long locks of red hair. 

"Thank you, it's beautiful," he said gratefully. "But surely you didn't bring me all the way out here just for that." 

Hiei shook his head, now came the hard part. 

"I also have something to say..." he started. He swallowed nervously and took a breath. All the battles he had fought, all the hardships to stay alive growing up in a world of hostile demons, none of it could compare to the difficulty of this moment. 

"I..." he paused, trying to force the words out of his mouth. Three simple words, that was all he wanted to say, but no matter how hard he tried, they were trapped inside him. Finally, he could stand it no longer. He roughly grabbed the sides of Kurama's face and pressed his Jagan against the youko's forehead. They dropped to their knees, Kurama suddenly overwhelmed by all the struggle, frustration and pain Hiei had been feeling since spring rushing into his mind all at once. Every word he had never been able to say flowed between them, he bared his entire soul to Kurama and the youko's ancient mind raced, hardly able to believe the range and intensity of the passionate emotions the fire demon was capable of feeling. It was unlike everything he had ever experienced, Hiei had handed over everything he had for Kurama to do with as he pleased. He trembled, and then one final trickle of thought entered his mind from Hiei's. One sentence, the three words that meant more than anything else. Kurama at last opened his green eyes, barely able to speak. 

"I love you too..." he whispered. He knew that it could not compare to what Hiei had just given him, but it seemed to be enough. He was on his back, the Jaganshi's hot tongue was probing into his mouth and they kissed so deeply Kurama was unable to breathe. Their clothes were all tossed aside into the blackness of the forest. Hiei ran his slender fingers through Kurama's hair, the boy was shaking with so much excitement he appeared to be shivering. They pressed together, and Hiei made love to him with only the ferocity and passion a demon could give. Kurama never cried out as Hiei pounded into his body, and suddenly every tree and flower and tiny plant in the forest shuttered wildly, every single seed exploding from its casing for miles around. All life sprouting from the earth around them shared in surge that passed through Kurama. His eyes were still open wide, their gazes had never left each other. As Hiei stared down into his beloved fox's deep pools of green, he finally managed to say the words he had been holding inside himself. 

"I love you..." 

Their lips locked and they tasted each other again. They had shared all that they were that night, and as the two held each other with only the moon and stars and forest to witness their act of love, the last rose of summer lay forgotten on the ground... 

**** 

'And that sir, is how it all happened.' 

'When you told me Hiei was planning to live in the human world, I didn't believe it for a second!' 

'So do you believe me now?' 

'After a story like that, I'd believe you if you said your grandmother was a moose. That was wonderful!' 

'Why, thank you, sir, I'm not sure what to say.' 

'Say you'll tell me a bed time story every night from now on.' 

'Well...' 

'SAY IT!' 

'Oh, look at the time! I have dead people to lead to their resting place for all eternity, see you later!' 

'Wait! Get off that oar and tell me the one about the three little pigs!' 

'Byyee!' 

**** 

The End ^_~ 


End file.
